‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ trailer offers first glimpses of Fil-Canadian actor as reluctant hero

The “Avatar: The Last Airbender” trailer offers a glimpse into the dangerous journey that awaits Aang (Filipino Canadian Gordon Cormier, center) and his companions Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell.) and Sokka (Ian Ousley). Image: gordoncormier_official/IG

LOS ANGELES – Netflix has released the official trailer for “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” giving fans first glimpses of Filipino Canadian actor Gordon Cormier as Aang, the reluctant hero.

The highly anticipated live-action series follows Aang, the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements so he can restore balance to a world threatened by the Fire Nation.

The trailer begins with a plea to Aang to save the world: “The Fire Nation is embarked on a dark path. And the world might never recover. The world needs the Avatar. It needs you, Aang.”

Set to premiere on Netflix on Feb. 22, the show stars Cormier, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Ken Leung, Daniel Dae Kim and Kiawentiio Tarbell.

The trailer offers a glimpse into the dangerous journey that awaits Aang and his companions Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell) and Sokka (Ian Ousley).

The trailer gives fans first glimpses of Filipino Canadian actor Gordon Cormier as Aang, the reluctant hero. Image: gordoncormier_official/IG

It concludes with Gordon Cormier’s Aang radiating energy and rising off the ground, offering a hint at the great power he will wield as a formidable hero who takes on the world’s most fearsome ruler, Fire Lord Ozai, portrayed by Daniel Dae Kim.

Rising star

The 14-year-old Fil-Canadian’s journey in acting began with a debut role in “Get Shorty” (2017), where he portrayed a Guatemalan urchin.

His role in the Stephen King adaptation The Stand (2020) as Joe, a young boy who becomes the ward of the main character, brought him to mainstream attention.

Cormier was only 12 when he got the role of Aang in the remake of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” in 2021.

Cormier has also appeared in the Hallmark original film “A Christmas Miracle” (2019) and an episode of “Two Sentence Horror Stories” (2021) as young Charles.

He was born on Oct. 8, 2009, in Vancouver, Canada, to Canadian dad Gordon and Filipino mom Genalyn Cormier.

The Netflix series spins an enchanting tale about four nations – Water, Earth, Fire and Air – living in harmony under the watch of the Avatar, a powerful entity capable of bending all elements. The balance is disrupted when the Fire Nation wipes out the Air Nomads aiming to conquer the world. In the midst of despair, the world awaits the emergence of the new Avatar.

The adaptation’s engaging narrative, rooted in eastern philosophies, springs from the creative mind of Albert Kim, a former journalist who serves as the showrunner, writer and executive producer.

The cast also includes Lim Kay Siu, Ken Leung, Elizabeth Yu, Maria Zhang, C.S. Lee, Amber Midthunder, A Martinez, Yvonne Chapman, Tamlyn Tomita and Casey Camp-Horinek.