M. Night Shyamalan has made plenty of movies that found a large audience, but THE LAST AIRBENDER seems like his first strictly designed for that purpose. Is that the twist?
Paramount and Nickelodeon are surely hoping it’s the first in a franchise — they plopped it on the prime release date of July 2, 2010. The live-action adaptation of the Miyazaki-influenced animated TV series (which drops the AVATAR name, for obvious Cameron-related reasons) is set in a fantasy world and follows a reluctant young hero who can manipulate the elements using martial arts and CGI.
The new teaser trailer is here, and hints at Shyamalan’s use of FX spectacle. No sign of SLUMDOG’s Dev Patel, though…