"The Last Airbender" director M. Night Shyamalan has confirmed that a sequel reportedly called, "The Last Airbender 2" is in the works.
However, M. Night Shyamalan can't seem to escape the long-standing criticisms from the first movie, which was released five years ago, especially when talking about the sequel.
In his defense, M. Night Shyamalan has been a notable writer and director, with successful films including "Lady in the Water," "The Village," "Signs," "Unbreakable," and the 1999 cult classic, "The Sixth Sense."
So it comes to no surprise that Movie Pilot claims that the reputable filmmaker is not the one to blame for the failure of the Nickelodeon series' film adapatation, given the discontent from critics and fans.
In an interview with IGN, M. Night Shyamalan defends "The Last Airbender" from these criticisms:
"It's really weird because on the show, the average age was like, nine years old. My child was nine years old. So you could make it one of two ways. You could make it for that same audience, which is what I did - for nine- and ten-year-olds - or you could do the 'Transformers' version and have Megan Fox. I didn't do that. [...] That felt like a betrayal of the innocence of the piece. [...] Those kids, it's for them. It as for them, to talk about mysticism and Eastern philosophies through a 10-year-old's vernacular."
Den of Geek reports that M. Night Shyamalan intends to pursue with a sequel for "The Last Airbender" amid criticisms. The sequel has in fact already been hinted when Prince Zuko's sister, Azula, was introduced at the end of the first film.
M. Night Shyamalan admitted, as per Screen Rant, that he had already "written a draft" for the film's sequel, not long after the release of "The Last Airbender."
Initially planned as a trilogy, no updates have yet surfaced regarding the script for the franchise's second installment.