Netflix and Avatar Creators Part Ways
Creative differences between Netflix and show creators have become an old story now, and the latest names in the list are the original creators of Netflix adaptation of the live-action animation Avatar: The Last Airbender, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko.
The creators have decided to no longer work with Netflix citing “creative differences.”
After working tirelessly for two years, DiMartino publicly stated that he and Bryan would no longer be at the helm of Avatar: The Last Airbender. DiMartino, in fact, has said that the duo is no longer working with Netflix since the month of June.
DiMartino revealed the news through a blog post. Netflix said that it was committed to honoring their vision for this retelling. It remarked that things didn’t go as they had expected.
DiMartino also added, “Leaving the project was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity. I realized that I couldn’t control the creative direction of the series, but I could control how I responded.”
DiMartino made it clear through his blog post that he accepts that his relationship with Netflix had become vexing and exasperating. However, he made it clear that he didn’t want to discourage the people who are still working on it. Instead, he expressed disappointment by saying, “whatever version ends up on the screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make.”
It was in the year 2018 that Netflix announced that popular animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender will be coming on its OTT platform as a live-action series with DiMartino and Konietzko in the swing of things. As of now, the series will move forward without the original creators.
Though Netflix boasts about giving creative freedom to the production team, it has faced criticism in the past over the same “creative differences” with some of the creators.
Netflix is known for the quality of content and has maintained its stance that it doesn’t like to interfere too much on which direction the story is heading. Rather, as the people working at Netflix have confidently said, it focuses on trusting the creators rather than judging them. However, it has been reported that they pass “notes” with suggestions, opinions, and revisions regarding the creative direction of a TV show while it is in production.
It was only in the year 2018 that Netflix and Marvel parted ways suspending the further production of popular TV shows such as Daredevil, the Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and The Defenders. Ava DuVernay also left a documentary citing “creative differences.”
