Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender has announced three new cast members as the series begins principal photography. As part of the casting news, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience) will play Uncle Iroh.
Lee is best known for playing Appa in the Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience. He was also a guest star as a rebel pilot in The Mandalorian. In Avatar, he will play Iroh a guardian and father figure to Prince Zuko following his banishment from the Fire Nation. Iroh is a tea-loving, kind mentor though in the past he was feared as a skilled general.
Joining Lee are Lim Kay Siu (Anna and The King) who will play Avatar Aang’s mentor Gyatso, and Ken Leung (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Commander Zhao, a villainous Fire Nation general and the primary antagonist in the animated show’s first season.
The three new cast members join Gordon Cormier’s Aang, Kiawentiio’s Katara, Ian Ousley’s Sokka, Dallas Liu’s Zuko, and Daniel Dae Kim’s Fire Lord Ozai as part of Netflix’s cast.
Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast
The studio also announced that production will take place on a virtual stage designed by Pixomondo that utilizes the same tech seen in The Mandalorian and, uh, How I Met Your Father.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is the latest animated series to receive a live-action adaptation from Netflix. The company recently announced the cast of its upcoming One Piece adaptation, a still from the live-action Gundam, and announced a live-action adaptation of YuYu Hakusho.
Check out IGN’s review of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, a live-action adaptation that takes a page from similar live-action adaptations from Japan which are more dedicated to the original source material versus adaptations that choose to localize anime for western audiences.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
(Photo by Darren Eagles/Getty Images)