Avatar: The Last Airbender is known for exploring moral and emotional situations. However, Nickelodeon has released an unaired pilot that shows some important differences from the animated series we know and love, and they are pretty dark!
The network held a Avatar: The Last Airbender live stream session on Sunday (as reported by Entertainment Weekly), tell the story of how ATLA came to be. It was told by creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who recently left The live-action adaptation of Netflix due to creative differences with the streaming platform. Included in the live stream (which you can watch over here) was the original, unaired pilot – it was previously recorded on DVD, but was not made available online.
The animation style and character designs are pretty similar between the unaired pilot and the actual show, but it’s clear that some changes were made before they debuted on Nickelodeon. Most of the voice acting is the same – with the exception of his star, Aang, who was originally cast by Mitchel Musso (Hannah Montana) but was replaced by Zach Tyler Eisen. In addition, Katara’s character was less confident, and came across as more dependent on Aang than she needed to be. She was initially named Kya, but the name was changed to Katara, possibly due to problems with the 2003 video game. Kya: Dark Lineage.
The unaired pilot also skips over all the events from the first episode where Katara and Sokka Aang discover, instead putting them in the middle of their adventure along the way Dante Basco’s Zuko (although it is never explained what they actually do). Some creatures and storylines from later episodes make an appearance, including Momo and the Snake from the season two episode, “The Serpent’s Pass.” That’s where Zuko comes in.
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During a hunt across a high ocean, Aang and the others manage to escape the attacking snake, but Zuko and his ship end up face-to-face with the creature. We see Zuko preparing for strike, and the next thing you know this is happening.
You can not imagine your things: this is the beheaded head of the snake that is being held in the Fire Nation’s camp, with tongue flaps, marked with marks of Zuko’s fatal attack. Sure, benders can do a lot of shit and it’s safe to assume there’s collateral damage, but it’s all treated offscreen. Not even Jet’s alleged death was shown, as this is a show for children. I suppose that test audience saw one look at that flapping tongue and said, “no thanks,” and the performance was changed to make any deadly incident instead of right there in front of your decapitated face. Zuko, how could you?
Avatar: The Last Airbender en The Legend of Korra are currently airing on Netflix.
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