Avatar Star Admits Admiration for One Piece Character, Teases Darker Tone for Season Two

After a series of lackluster live-action anime adaptations, Netflix’s One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender finally broke the mold with their successful adaptations by blending exceptional casting, impressive CGI, and a sharp screenplay. As a result, the stars of these shows are poised to receive admiration and envy, not just for their standout performances but also for their own achievements.

Netflix has turned live-action adaptations of animated series into a key part of its strategy. While not all adaptations have resonated with audiences, both One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender have emerged as standout hits on the platform. In a recent interview, Gordon Cormier, who stars as Aang in Netflix’s Avatar, discussed the success and promising future of the series. Interestingly, as he gears up for his return to bending, Cormier also reveals his admiration for One Piece and what he finds most enviable about it.

ComicBook recently had the chance to speak with Gordon Cormier at this year’s Dragon Con about the success and promising future of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In an intriguing twist, it turns out that the live-action Aang has a surprising admiration for the live-action Monkey D. Luffy. As he gears up to return to the bending world, Cormier candidly shared his envy for Inaki Godoy, the young actor who plays the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates in Netflix’s One Piece. Cormier revealed that he not only respects Godoy’s role but also is a fan of his social media presence, saying, “I love Inaki. He’s the best. I think he just turned 22. I saw his birthday post. He posts the same photo every single year with the same caption but changes the number. It’s so sick. I wish I would have thought of that so I could hit, like, 11.”

It’s highly anticipated that the second season of One Piece will debut before Avatar: The Last Airbender’s sequel. Production for One Piece season two is already underway, with Netflix actively working on new episodes and revealing several new actors who will join the Straw Hat crew as they explore locations like Drum Island, Loguetown, and Little Garden. Meanwhile, following its stellar debut on Netflix, Avatar: The Last Airbender has been swiftly renewed for both a second and a third season. Although Netflix has yet to announce the cast members for the upcoming season, fans are eagerly speculating who will be cast as the iconic blind Earth bender, Toph. As anticipation for the next installment grows, if Avatar’s second season stays true to its source material, viewers can expect the bulk of the story to unfold in the Earth Kingdom as Aang continues to hone his earth-bending abilities.

Discussing the upcoming second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Cormier elaborated on the anticipated shift towards a darker tone and how he’s gearing up to embrace the more mature aspects of the series. Reflecting on the journey so far, Cormier remarked on Avatar’s evolution from Season 1 to the upcoming season and the darker themes, stating, “I feel like I had quite a bit of that in our first season. In Season 2, hopefully I’m going to get some more opportunities to be joyful and stuff. I mean, they’re both really great (seasons) so you get to see both sides of Aang. In the original series, we got to see a lot of the super joyful and filler stuff, which is dope. But with, I don’t know how many episodes, I’m just assuming that they’re going to have to pack it together.”

For a refresher, the debut season of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, which aired on Nickelodeon throughout 2005, was somewhat lighter in tone compared to the subsequent seasons. Aang’s initial adventures set the stage for the series, infusing the bending universe with high stakes and plenty of comedic moments. Though these early episodes did touch on darker themes, the intensity escalated significantly in the second and third seasons as the series delved deeper into the brutal realities of the Fire Nation’s aggressive campaign. The introduction of Earth bender Toph further elevated the challenges Aang and his friends faced, presenting them with formidable obstacles that surpassed anything they had previously encountered. To complete the adaptation of Nickelodeon’s beloved animated series, Netflix will be bringing back the original young cast members, who portrayed Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Prince Zuko, for the upcoming seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Netflix has not yet announced a release date for the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, while One Piece is anticipated to debut in 2025.

Source: ComicBook