Actor Dallas Liu shares his excitement over being cast in Netflix's live-action cast for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation, but a filming start date has yet to be confirmed.
What made Zuko such a great character in the original animated series was his incredibly satisfying journey from season 1 to the series finale. Initially Zuko's sole focus was redeeming himself to his father, Fire Lord Ozai, after Ozai banished Zuko from the Fire Nation. The only way to do that was to capture the Avatar for the Fire Nation. However, thanks to the wisdom of Zuko's Uncle Iroh and Zuko's own experiences in the other nations, the exiled Fire Nation Prince came to the realization that he was on the wrong side. Once Avatar Aang's greatest foe, Zuko's choice to become the Avatar's ally and fight against his father was one of the best moments in the series.
At the recent Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings movie premiere, Liu, who also has a role in Shang-Chi, relayed his joy over his casting in the Avatar: The Last Airbender Netflix adaptation. When asked by a reporter for Variety how it feels to be a part of the series, Liu said it's a "huge honor to be playing Zuko" and added, "I’m just excited to give it everything I’ve got." Liu also acknowledged that the fans have been waiting a long time for more ATLA content and said he "definitely won’t let them down."
Although it probably wasn't intentional, Liu's use of the word "honor" to describe how he felt about his casting as Zuko drew the delight of Avatar: The Last Airbender fans. After all, it could be argued that "honor" unofficially became Zuko's catchphrase in the show, particularly in the first season (to the point where Zuko saying, "I have to restore my honor" was hilariously mocked in-universe.) Although Zuko's original voice actor, Dante Basco, did such a great job portraying Zuko in the animated series, it'll still be exciting to see Liu's live-action take on the role.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender Netflix adaptation has a huge legacy to live up to with fans of the original series. Hopefully the adaptation will do the story of Zuko and Team Avatar justice. Avatar: The Last Airbender did such a beautiful job building a world with complex, flawed characters that were easy to root for, so it'll be interesting to see how the live-action adaptation honors the animated series that captured the hearts of fans worldwide.
Source: Variety