Consider it or not, this 12 months marks the twentieth anniversary of the premiere of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Final Airbender, however the fandom has solely grown within the 20 years for the reason that very first episode aired. With one spinoff already produced and a second on the best way to observe the journeys of latest Avatars, there’s nonetheless a serious deal with coming for viewers who will at all times love the OG Staff Avatar. The Legend of Aang is on the best way to proceed the tales of the unique group into younger maturity as a theatrical movie. The catch? The OG voice actors aren’t a part of the deal, and Jack DeSena opened up concerning the new voice of Sokka.
Jack DeSena was among the many Avatar franchise stars who spoke with CinemaBlend at San Diego Comedian-Con, shortly after the twentieth anniversary panel that got here with nostalgic moments in addition to information bulletins. No footage was but out there for Avatar: The Legend of Aang, however the brand new voice forged had largely already been introduced for the older model of the TLA gang: Eric Nam as Aang, Dionne Quan as Toph, Jessica Matten as Katara, and Román Zaragoza as Sokka.
I requested DeSena for his tackle Sokka’s journey persevering with on display in The Legend of Aang, which in fact has one other actor taking the reins. DeSena, who had beforehand shared his ideas on Sokka not having bending talents and why the unique present stays related, responded:
I am simply actually excited to see the place they go along with it. I need to see these gaps and see what will get crammed in. And I am excited to listen to Román’s take…. I’ve chatted with him concerning the character and I am so excited to see what he does with it. And I need to hear, I need to discover out the place Sokka goes and what his grownup life is like. We get little glimpses in Korra. We hear little items about what he goes on to do. However I need to hear extra.
Jack DeSena was obsessed with Sokka’s story persevering with, with no trace of reservation that one other actor will painting the older model of his longtime character. Curiously, Sokka did not want an older voice actor in The Legend of Korra, as Sokka had died previous to the occasions of the spinoff. The Legend of Aang‘s place within the timeline in fact places it between the tip of TLA and starting of Korra, and I can not assist however surprise if The Legend of Aang will deviate from the occasions of the comics that continued the tales from The Final Airbender on the web page.
Whereas there are extra questions than solutions about The Legend of Aang because it was introduced in 2022 apart from the voice forged, the October 2026 premiere date, and Lauren Montgomery as director, Jack DeSena raised a enjoyable query that may very well be answered in a narrative persevering with Sokka’s journey:
Is there a complete brood of junior Hawkies?
I can not say that I ever thought of {that a} post-The Final Airbender mission may embody Hawky amongst characters whose tales are expanded, however I am all for it! Work is unquestionably by no means carried out for a messenger hawk within the arms of Sokka, proper?
DeSena mentioning Hawky jogged my memory of one other addition to The Final Airbender‘s third and last season for Sokka: the sword solid by the character out of the ore from a meteorite that had lately fallen from the sky. Or, as Sokka referred to as it: House Sword. The actor shared a principle for the destiny of House Sword as effectively, and I am 100% on board with it even when it is not made canon in The Legend of Aang. He stated:
Michaela [Jill Murphy], who voices Toph, shared with me a fan principle that Toph would have discovered it for him, and I like that concept. She was the one who sensed the meteorite within the first place, after which I believe she would. I believe she would return to the positioning.
So far as I am involved, except canonically contradicted, the official story is that Toph discovered and recovered House Sword for Sokka after the occasions of the Season 3 finale. It will solely be becoming after he misplaced the sword when he threw it at an enemy soldier in a determined effort to save lots of each of their lives, and now all I need from The Legend of Aang is affirmation.
Sadly, Avatar: The Legend of Aang continues to be greater than a 12 months away with a premiere date of October 9, 2026. Within the meantime, followers can at all times revisit the three seasons of Avatar: The Final Airbender, at the moment out there streaming with a Netflix subscription and a Paramount+ subscription.