Movie News

Slumdog's Patel Cast in The Last Airbender

February 2, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel has joined the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films live-action film based on the Nick TV series, reports Variety.

Patel will be featured alongside newcomer Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone and Jessica Jade Andres. Production begins in mid-March in Greenland.

In casting Patel and Ringer, a director accustomed to delivering plot twists to audiences got some surprises of his own. Ringer is a complete unknown who was tapped for the title role off an Internet audition. Patel, meanwhile, steps into a role that Jesse McCartney had all but locked up until the actor's second career as a musician got in the way.

Ringer will play Aang, the film's lead, who is the last of a race of people who can manipulate the elements of air.

Ringer, a 12-year-old from Texas, landed the part after demonstrating his martial arts skills in an Internet video that he posted to a website Shyamalan set up for open virtual auditions.

Patel will play Zuko, a member of the Fire Nation. Peltz plays the Water Tribe rep Katara, while Andres is the Earth Kingdom's representative, Suki.

Paramount is set to release "Airbender on July 2, 2010. Shyamalan said he is planning a three-picture story arc.

From ComingSoon.net

Mandvi, Toub and Curtis Join The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender to Start Filming in Reading
First Look at Shyamalan's The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer Online!
The Last Airbender Super Bowl Spot

Other Movie Sites

First Look: Dev Patel on Fire in The Last Airbender
The Hollywood Roundup: May 25
The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer Online!
A Sneak Peek at M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender
New Last Airbender Posters Turn Their Back On Us

COMMENTS (42)

Posted by:

Gabriel

February 2, 2009

Sounds good. One can only hope that M. Night won't screw this one up. One can only hope.

Posted by:

Oh Boy!

February 2, 2009

I'm sure it's as exciting and well crafted as the Hitchcockian masterpiece The Happening.

Seriously though, I hope Patel gets some good roles. Great young actor.

Posted by:

Ken

February 2, 2009

What a twist!

Posted by:

seven31

February 2, 2009

I like how Zuko will be a person of color. The Avatar the Last Airbender series is predominantly asian with some inuits. I hope the Rathbone and that other chic have scheduling conflicts too. The Last Airbender needs to have the cauc taken out of caucasian.

Posted by:

chrisjo

February 2, 2009

Who is Rathbone playing in the movie? Sokka? From what I saw of him in Twilight I hope he has a really good comedic timing because the character in the show was funny and always trying to act older than he was...and it all come back to bite him later. He also had his great serious moments but the comedy would really be able to keep enough lightness to appease kids and the fans of the show because...that's who he was. Funny

Posted by:

Ryuukuro

February 2, 2009

I can't see this movie on principal. Hooray, so we have one non-white person in this now (and he's the villain.) My knowledge of Avatar is limited but shouldn't all of the main characters be Asian?

Posted by:

Paul Martin

February 2, 2009

Actually, the cast of the show is NOT Asian. It does NOT take place on Earth.

What it does do, is draw from Asian and Inuit Cultures, but it completely creates a whole different world.

There are strange hybrid animals all throughout the land, and instead of labeling the cultures based on location, they only labeled them based on what element they belonged to. Water, Earth, Fire and Air tribes are what filled the land.

It did draw on a lot of Asian culture, but I always thought that each tribe would represent different people of our world, and that the show represented more than just Asians, right from the start.

I thought it made the most sense to base certain tribes on certain things in our world, because it creates an instant emotional connection to that world. But then it shakes things up by having people of many backgrounds as part of each tribe. That's why the end of the series is so important, too. Family fighting family?

I think that makes a better case for setting aside prejudices than does making our own show that could even seem a parody, and it matches more of what I thought I was watching from the start: a show that transcends race.

Posted by:

Kaardinal

February 2, 2009

Well said, Paul Martin...well said. The animated show was well done and I enjoyed watching it. I really hope M. Night Shyamalan gives it the credit it deserves.

Posted by:

Chris

February 2, 2009

This kid looks more like Sokka than Zuko. I prefered McCartney's casting.

Posted by:

Daniel

February 2, 2009

Remember just because it may look Asian does not mean that it is. Dragon Ball is a mix of different societies and cultures. Goku is not Asian, he is an alien, so they in almost every right can put an American as the lead role. Aliens won't always look Asian.