M. Night Shyamalan Paints ‘The Last Airbender’ White

Posted by Adam Sweeney (adam@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 11, 2008

The Last Airbender

Word is that M. Night Shyamalan has chosen the cast of The Last Airbender and it has a decidedly paler look than some had expected.

Entertainment Weekly is rolling with news that M. Night’s live-action film of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon will star Noah Ringer, a karate star he found in an open casting call in Texas, as the 12 year old hero, Aang. Nicola Peltz (Righteous Kill) will play his sister Katara. I can’t hate too much on those choices when I haven’t seen a ton of either actor’s work.

Where the casting takes a turn are the choices of Jackson Rathbone (Twilight) as Soka and pop star and actor Jesse McCartney as the evil prince Zuko. I know that Avatar isn’t technically anime because it was created in the United States, but could M. Night humor me and hire Asian actors? The original show is centered around Chinese and Japanese art, why would you not cast it according to that? Is it too late to have Mickey Rooney show up as a monk and pay homage to his offensive role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

M. Night, we get it. You want to make a film to cater to the largest crowd in America, namely White people. But you better be cure of what you’re doing. Yellowface would go over about as well as The Happening. I will reserve judgment totally for when I see the film but this could very well be the second coming of the casting for the Dragonball film. Ewwwwww.

What do you think of the cast of The Last Airbender? What will it take for M. Night Shyamalan to turn his career around?


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  • Awful lot of honkies round here. . .
  • HAGE
    he needs to have some good material, have bruce willis and SLJ to accept roles! only then will the magic be regained. till then, the only actor worth noticing in his films would be him making a mess at acting.
  • Big K
    Although it is a show made for American audiences, "Avatar" is a show that delves deeply into the different cultures of Asia from the fighting styles down to the spiritual beliefs. I find it strange that Shyamalan (himself a person of Asian descent) would agree to a casting like this. Hell, shave the head of the kid who was beating Ben Stiller and Jack Black up in "Tropic Thunder", and he could play either Zuko or Aang.

    Next thing you know they'll make a film version of "Good Times" with Topher Grace as J.J. Evans and Hayden Pantierre as Thelma.
  • "shave the head of the kid who was beating Ben Stiller and Jack Black up in "Tropic Thunder", and he could play either Zuko or Aang"

    Now THAT'S brilliant - Brandon Soo Hoo impressed the hell out of me. It's been a while since I've seen someone that young move that fluidly & quickly. Can you believe he's only 13??
  • Geez, another shining example of Hollywood not getting "IT".
  • Soul-Drinker-Katara
    I think the cast is terrible. I'm all for the casting of someone with martial arts background for at least one of the cast, but come on. Katara and Sokka are Inuits, they are both supposed to be dark-skinned, and have darker hair. And Zuko? Don't even get me started...

    I don't think he can turn his career around. If the Happening was any telltale sign, the series that I and many others love will be ruined with this movie. Just like Eragon.
  • Arou101
    Different colored cast? WHAT A TWIST!
  • TheParanoidAndroid
    Possible twist endings for this one: Aang was a ghost, all along; Katara was really the villain, all along; Prince Zuko's weakness was water, all along; Soka was the Symbolist, all along; or, here's the kicker, it all takes place in PRESENT TIME.

    On topic, at this point, nothing can save M. Night's career....
  • Meepo
    Why is everyone complaining about the damn cast? Maybe Noah isn't white, no one knows. Plus there are still countless other important characters to be cast. As long as the actors can act and pull it off with a tan and makeup, it should all be good.
  • avatarfan
    Ah yes. Because sticking Jesse McCartney in Zuko's clothing, especially in S3, and then giving him an army of Asian soldiers is so not like putting Tom Cruise in a hakama and haori, passing him off as Japanese and saying that there is nothing wrong with the picture.
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