Avatar: The Last Airbender's Aang And Zuko Actors Have A Friendly Rivalry Brewing, And It's Getting Fans Hyped For The Netflix Series

From left to right: Dallas Liu looking over his shoulder as Zuko and Gordon Cormier as Aang in the live action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
(Image credit: Netflix)

To put it frankly, there’s been a lot of trepidation and caution surrounding the live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Fans of the animated series still aren’t over what happened with the last attempt at a live-action movie. So when it was announced that Netflix would be making a new The Last Airbender series many of us felt scared. However, now that interviews are starting to come out that show off the cast’s chemistry and the budding rivalry between the actors who play Aang and Zuko, fans are getting hyped for this series. 

As a lifelong Avatar: The Last Airbender fan I was cracking up over this TikTok of Gordon Cormier, who plays the Avatar, and Dallas Liu, who is the prince of the Fire Nation. It's radiating major Season 3 Aang and Zuko energy as they bicker just like the animated characters do in later episodes, and I love it. You can see this budding rivalry on display as they answered a question asked by theoriesbyt about who their favorite characters from the show are:

@theoriesbyt

♬ original sound - Tyrell Charles

The comments also popped off over these two hilariously talking about their favorite characters as many people posted things like: 

  • THAT IS LITERALLY AANG IRL -nafeez 
  • they don’t even need a script, their dynamic is very aang and zuko 😭 -clio 
  • they just ARE aang and zuko, i’m so excited for it ❤️ -teresa 
  • Dallas laugh sounds like zuko -Nidia 

This clip even managed to convince some skeptics of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender to be cautiously optimistic about the Netflix series as commenters like dina posted: 

wasn’t too excited for the live-action but seeing the cast act like their characters has raised my hopes!!

I know my hopes have been raised, honestly, I was sold from the moment they showed the first photos of The Last Airbender’s Netflix adaptation. However, the more I see this cast interacting, the more excited I get. With that said, that enthusiasm grew even more when I saw another TikTok from theorisbyt of the two young actors talking about their favorite type of bending, check it out:

@theoriesbyt

♬ original sound - Tyrell Charles

Like me, many in the comments were loving the dynamic between Gordon Cormier and Dallas Liu, and they let the world know by writing:

  • That dude is finna kill it as Zuko -Negrito 
  • They have fully just become Aang and Zuko 😂😂😂 -Tyrell Charles 
  • He really is Aang I have hope 😭😭 -Paris 
  • That “I’m doing good!” Was so Aang coded. Okay I’m a lil confident. -Jordan

I agree with all of the above. Cormier has the bubbly goofy energy of Aang, while also having the diplomatic instincts of the Avatar. Meanwhile, Liu has been giving light-hearted but a little bit hot-headed answers that fit the vibe of Zuko. Overall, these two are just so fun to watch together and they seem like the perfect actors to play out the wildly complex and compelling rivalry between the Avatar and the exiled Prince of the Fire Nation. 

While this was a fun sneak peek at what’s to come with this Avatar remake, it’ll be a while before we see these characters and some of The Last Airbender's best fights and comedic moments on screen. The series is currently slated for a 2024 release, so in the meantime, you can continue to watch this wholesome yet fiery rivalry brew between Gordon Cormier and Dallas Liu. Also, you can watch how Aang and Zuko’s story unfolds in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender with a Netflix subscription

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.