Avatar: The Last Airbender Creators Reveal Series Finale Planning

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The creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, recently shared whether they had planned out Aang’s story arc before making the show. It’s been two decades since Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted on Nickelodeon, and it significantly changed how people viewed children’s television and animation in general.

The fact that Aang needed to learn waterbending, earthbending, and firebending naturally divided Avatar: The Last Airbender into three clear sections, making for a well-structured story. Because of this, the show is often praised for having a particularly strong and cohesive plot, and even episodes that seemed like detours contributed to the overall narrative.

Just how much of Aang’s journey was mapped out beforehand? To mark the 20th anniversary of Avatar: The Last Airbender, creators Konietzko and DiMartino shared insights into the show’s development with Buzzfeed. According to DiMartino, they had the main outline of the series planned from the start.

The idea of Aang needing to learn all four elements – starting with water, then earth, and eventually fire while in the Fire Nation – remained a core part of the story. That central concept really resonated and stayed with us throughout the process, as DiMartino explained.

We originally had some basic ideas for episodes, but as the show developed, those ideas were built upon and expanded. A lot of new concepts that weren’t in our initial plan ended up being used. It’s fun to revisit those early concepts and realize we actually predicted some things!

During the interview, Konietzko recalled revisiting their original planning documents after the series finished. They were surprised to find how many of their initial concepts actually ended up being used in the show.

Konietzko explained that he hadn’t reviewed the show’s original concept materials in a couple of years. While he didn’t want to diminish the contributions of the writers, artists, or new ideas, a lot of details from the initial ‘Development Bible’ were still being used. He specifically mentioned the detail of Aang protecting himself with stone during his fight with Ozai as an example of something that was planned from the beginning.

I was so fascinated to hear that they had tons of ideas for the show that didn’t even make it in! It’s amazing to think about all the possibilities they considered. They always knew the broad strokes, though – like the big showdown in Book Three involving a counter-invasion, and that Aang and Ozai would finally clash during the comet. They even planned for Ozai to have incredibly powerful firebending thanks to the comet’s energy. It’s incredible how much thought went into building that world!

Even a great cartoon – one that’s funny, exciting, teaches you something, and feels important – can be ruined by a bad ending. Luckily, Avatar: The Last Airbender had a fantastic finale. The fight between Aang and the evil Fire Lord Ozai, powered by the comet, was amazing, and Aang’s win felt completely earned.

So, how did the creators, DiMartino and Konietzko, approach depicting Aang’s most crucial and intense battle? They focused on his personality and background. As DiMartino explained, Aang comes from a peaceful, monastic community and deeply values non-violence. He consistently tried to find peaceful solutions, even when facing conflict, and that informed how the battle was portrayed.

The co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender explained that while everyone expected Aang to kill Ozai, that didn’t align with his character. They recently watched the series finale with the Nickelodeon team and realized this internal struggle – Aang’s desire to find an alternative solution – is a central theme throughout those final four episodes.

DiMartino and Konietzko explained that they had planned the lion-turtle’s role from early on in the series. “We tried to hint at the lion-turtle throughout the show, so it wouldn’t seem to appear suddenly – although, some viewers felt it did!” DiMartino said.

Konietzko added that, as Mike had mentioned, they always intended to connect the story to the lion-turtles. He explained that they included the lion-turtles in the opening sequence of a test pilot episode they made before the show was officially approved, showing Aang among large lion-turtle statues in a courtyard.

From the beginning, we planned for the character to learn from various teachers, eventually mastering a final technique from a lion-turtle. The idea draws on many myths, and we were particularly inspired by Korean statues of turtles carrying large stone pillars on their backs.

Considering how much of a lasting impression the show has made, it’s clear that the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender perfectly wrapped things up. While the stories of Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Zuko continue in graphic novels and will be expanded upon in future animated projects like The Legend of Aang movie, none of that would have happened without the original series and its incredible finale.

20 years later, Avatar: The Last Airbender is as relevant and powerful as ever — maybe even more so.

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2025-10-26 03:59