Fans of award-winning animated series Avatar: The Last Air Master and its sequel, The legend of Korra, are in for a treat. ViacomCBS executives announced on Wednesday that their subsidiary, Nickelodeon, will launch a new production studio dedicated to expanding the Avatar universe led by series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
The new division is tasked with creating “series, short film content, spin offs and theatrical films” based on Avatar, starting with an animated feature film that will go into production this year. The new content will appear on Paramount +, as well as on Nickelodeon’s own digital and broadcast channels and in theaters.
“Avatar: The Last Air Master and Korra have grown at least ten times in popularity since their original success was aired on Nickelodeon, and Ramsey Naito and I are incredibly excited to have Mike and Bryan’s brilliant talent on board to run a studio dedicated to expanding his characters and world into new content and formats for fans everywhere, ”said Brian Robbins, president of ViacomCBS Kids & Family Variety. “Creator-driven stories and characters have been the hallmarks of Nickelodeon, and Avatar Studios is a way to give Mike and Bryan the resources and the clue to open up your imagination even further and dive deeper into the action and mythology Avatar as we simultaneously expand that world and the world of content available on Paramount + and Nickelodeon. ”
DiMartino and Konietzko were already involved in the live-action adaptation of the Netflix series, starting in 2018. However, they left the project two years later.
“I try to be like an Air Nomad and adapt. I do my best to follow the flow, no matter what obstacle gets in my way. But even an Air Nomad knows when it’s time to cut their losses and move on, ”said DiMartino in an open letter published in 2020. The Netflix film is still in production, although it is totally independent from Avatar Studios. No release date has yet been set.