Believe it or not, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the premiere of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender, but the fandom has only grown in the two decades since the very first episode aired. With one spinoff already produced and a second on the way to follow the journeys of new Avatars, there's still a major treat coming for viewers who will always love the OG Team Avatar. The Legend of Aang is on the way to continue the stories of the original team into young adulthood as a theatrical film. The catch? The OG voice actors aren't part of the deal, and Jack DeSena opened up about the new voice of Sokka.
Jack DeSena was among the Avatar franchise stars who spoke with CinemaBlend at San Diego Comic-Con, shortly after the 20th anniversary panel that came with nostalgic moments as well as news announcements. No footage was yet available for Avatar: The Legend of Aang, but the new voice cast had largely already been announced for the older version of the TLA gang: Eric Nam as Aang, Dionne Quan as Toph, Jessica Matten as Katara, and Román Zaragoza as Sokka.
I asked DeSena for his take on Sokka's journey continuing on screen in The Legend of Aang, which of course has another actor taking the reins. DeSena, who had previously shared his thoughts on Sokka not having bending abilities and why the original show remains relevant, responded:
I'm just really excited to see where they go with it. I want to see those gaps and see what gets filled in. And I'm excited to hear Román's take.... I've chatted with him about the character and I'm so excited to see what he does with it. And I want to hear, I want to find out where Sokka goes and what his adult life is like. We get little glimpses in Korra. We hear little pieces about what he goes on to do. But I want to hear more.
Jack DeSena was enthusiastic about Sokka's story continuing, with no hint of reservation that another actor will portray the older version of his longtime character. Interestingly, Sokka didn't need an older voice actor in The Legend of Korra, as Sokka had died prior to the events of the spinoff. The Legend of Aang's place in the timeline of course puts it between the end of TLA and beginning of Korra, and I can't help but wonder if The Legend of Aang will deviate from the events of the comics that continued the stories from The Last Airbender on the page.
While there are more questions than answers about The Legend of Aang since it was announced in 2022 other than the voice cast, the October 2026 premiere date, and Lauren Montgomery as director, Jack DeSena raised a fun question that could be answered in a story continuing Sokka's journey:
Is there a whole brood of junior Hawkies?
I can't say that I ever considered that a post-The Last Airbender project could include Hawky among characters whose stories are expanded, but I'm all for it! Work is surely never done for a messenger hawk in the hands of Sokka, right?
DeSena mentioning Hawky reminded me of another addition to The Last Airbender's third and final season for Sokka: the sword forged by the character out of the ore from a meteorite that had recently fallen from the sky. Or, as Sokka called it: Space Sword. The actor shared a theory for the fate of Space Sword as well, and I'm 100% on board with it even if it isn't made canon in The Legend of Aang. He said:
Michaela [Jill Murphy], who voices Toph, shared with me a fan theory that Toph would have found it for him, and I love that idea. She was the one who sensed the meteorite in the first place, and then I think she would. I think she would go back to the site.
As far as I'm concerned, unless canonically contradicted, the official story is that Toph found and recovered Space Sword for Sokka after the events of the Season 3 finale. It would only be fitting after he lost the sword when he threw it at an enemy soldier in a desperate effort to save both of their lives, and now all I want from The Legend of Aang is confirmation.
Unfortunately, Avatar: The Legend of Aang is still more than a year away with a premiere date of October 9, 2026. In the meantime, fans can always revisit the three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender, currently available streaming with a Netflix subscription and a Paramount+ subscription.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
