Variety’s review says “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender” successfully revives the animated franchise through striking visuals and detailed worldbuilding. The critic argues that the film would have benefited from a wider cinema release, as most viewers will instead see it on Paramount+, but considers it effective even on a smaller screen.

The sequel is the first release from Avatar Studios and is set more than a decade after the original series, with Aang and his friends living in a newly peaceful world. Republic City has been founded to symbolise cooperation between former rivals, while the story retains the franchise’s system of elemental “benders” and its central premise that only the Avatar can master all four elements. The film will receive only a limited awards-qualifying theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles before streaming.