Brian Robbins, who is the President of Kids & Family Entertainment at ViacomCBS, provided Deadline with a few more bread crumbs regarding what Nickelodeon meant when it was announced last month that there were plans to expand the Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra franchises.
As previously discussed, The Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko left Netflix’s live-action series last year to run Avatar Studios, and assume the role of co-chief creative officers. Since taking up this new post, Robbins reveals that the two are beginning to lay the groundwork for what will be “an entire Avatar Airbender universe” which will consist of a variety of mediums.
“We are in the early stages of developing and exploring what we are calling an entire Avatar Airbender universe,” Robbins said. “Mike and Bryan are hard at work, and I think that universe will encompass definitely a theatrical film, animation, certainly multiple TV series and probably multiple films. I think we will be ready very soon to tell the world what is coming first but we are not there yet because we’re in early stages of creative development.”
While the live-action series will remain on Netflix, as per the contractual obligations agreed upon prior to Robbins’ arrival to Nickelodeon, any forthcoming Last Airbender projects will live on either Paramount+ and/or Nickelodeon. “We are excited about filling our own platforms today,” Robbins said. “We will strategically license context to other places for different reasons but mostly our focus is on filling our own platforms starting with linear TV.”
The original Avatar: The Last Airbender aired for three seasons, starting in 2005. The sequel series Legend of Korra lasted for four seasons from 2012 to 2014.
