The Last Airbender Future Beyond Season 3 Ending Plans Addressed By Live-Action Stars

Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s live-action stars want the show to keep going.

Dallas Liu, who plays Zuko, and Elizabeth Yu, who plays Azula, have addressed the future of the Netflix series beyond season 3’s ending. Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 was recently released on the streaming platform, adapting the animated series’ second arc, titled “Book Two: Earth,” for live-action. In addition to the now-available new season, season 3 has already been filmed, acting as the final chapter in the Netflix remake. However, the cast has plenty of passion for the show, and don’t want it to end anytime soon.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for our cover story about the show’s return, Liu and Yu addressed the idea of Avatar: The Last Airbender continuing beyond its planned ending for season 3. The pair acknowledged how they’d love to portray Zuko and Azula for many years to come, despite the series coming to a close. They explained how much passion they have for the original series and how it helped them bring their characters to life, wishing they could continue in their roles despite the series’ ending:

ScreenRant: So, talking about wanting this show to be 10 seasons, obviously we know that season 3 is meant to close out the book, as is the case with the original. So for you guys, knowing that you got season 3 already, is that bittersweet? Is it exciting? Is there a feeling of just, again, wanting to keep doing more? What was the feeling like going into season 3?
Elizabeth Yu: I’m more bitter than sweet about ending the show. [Laughs]
Dallas Liu: [Laughs] Yeah, I would say the same. I like playing Zuko.
Elizabeth Yu: Literally, for the rest of my life [I could play Azula]. These characters are so much fun, and that’s what’s so cool about the original animation is, even though it was an animation, these characters were so in depth and so fully thought out. So, getting to play them in live-action is so much fun because there’s so much history there.
Dallas Liu: And just the Fire Nation specifically. I love being a part of the Fire Nation. I love the scar that I get to put on every morning. I love my 2000s rock hair swoop that I got to rock.
Elizabeth Yu: The Justin Bieber. [Laughs]
Dallas Liu: Yeah, the Justin Bieber. [Laughs] I love wearing the color red. It’s so cool. Every single part of it, I love the other characters that I get to interact with. Our showrunner, Christine [Boylan], would refer to the Fire Nation side of the show as a Fire Nation Succession.
ScreenRant: That’s not far off!
Elizabeth Yu: We’re all trying to get that job.

When asked about how Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3 will play out, the pair spoke about how it’ll have all the qualities that made the final season of the animated series so great. They explained how fresh in their minds season 3 is, making them want to see how it all came together while knowing what to anticipate from the show’s final chapter. They also toyed with the idea that this wouldn’t be the end for the show and its characters, expressing some hope of returning to their roles in the future.

Check out more of what Liu and Yu had to say below:

ScreenRant: Well, without trying to get y’all in trouble with season 3 talk, I did want to ask. Each season has felt very tonally different, and that was the same in the cartoon, as well. What can you tease about how season 3 is going to feel really different compared to the first two seasons of this one?
Dallas Liu: It is so good. I don’t know how I can explain it tonally, but I think I can say confidently that the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender in season 3 is so good. Season 3 will always be my favorite from the cartoon. Season 2 is also great, obviously, but getting to see the cartoon come to life in season 3, it is so fulfilling. It’s going to make you cry, it’s going to make you laugh, it’s going to make you angry, but it’s also going to make you cry. It’ll make you cry a lot, in a good way. Tears of joy.
Elizabeth Yu: This is the thing is we all love season 2 so much, but we actually watched the entire second season together, because we were all in LA together, which was a lot of fun. But we all were like, “Okay, now, where’s season 3? We want season 3. I want to see season 3.” Because we had filmed it for the year straight back-to-back, the two seasons. So season 2, we were getting back into the characters, getting back into the world and the writing and all of that good stuff. And season 3, I think we really all settled in and we’re like, “Okay, we know what we’re doing. We have been doing it. We’re ready to keep the ramp going up.” So, we’re also very excited to see how that turned out, because it was a banger to film.
Dallas Liu: Yeah, it’s the freshest thing on our minds, because it’s the last thing we shot. So coming back to two, it’s like, “Oh yeah. Oh my gosh, how could I forget?” We did that. That’s awesome.” But I think we’re always going to be excited to complete the full animated series, because the ending’s the good stuff, man, for all the characters. But, is it the end?
Elizabeth Yu: Who knows? Probably, but who knows? [Laughs]

Image via Netflix

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 ended on a similar cliffhanger to the animated series, setting the stage for a season 3 that sees Team Avatar at their lowest point. However, it also lays the groundwork for the compelling storylines Zuko and Azula will be going through in the final season. As the actors state, the next chapter of their journey will be crucial to their characters, alongside bringing about some of the more emotional moments in the series.

The pair is clearly passionate about their roles in Avatar: The Last Airbender, hoping the show can continue beyond season 3 in some capacity. Sokka actor Ian Ousley previously pitched the idea of adapting some of the comics, which serve as continuations of some loose threads from the animated series. Since the comics are considered canon to the animated universe, it would be a meaningful way of bringing the series back by finally giving the stories an adaptation for the small screen.

For now, though, the future of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix remains up in the air. While season 3 is set to be the series’ last, there’s always the chance its story continues in some kind of spinoff form, be it as comic adaptations, or an original continuation. Given the cast’s passion for the series, seeing it continue beyond the main show could prove interesting, fleshing out the universe even more.