The Legend of Korra

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Please do not put in unconfirmed rumors into the main article. Add them in to the Rumors section.

Avatar: Legend of Korra is an upcoming American television mini-series set in the Avatar universe as a spin-off of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is currently under development, and is expected to run for 12 episodes starting November 2011. The co-creators of the original series, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, are confirmed to be involved. The pair will personally write all of the episodes to allow for a tighter storyline.

The new series will take place 75 years after the end of the Avatar: The Last Airbender story arc, with all-new characters and settings. The protagonist of the new series, Korra, the next Avatar after Aang, is a hot-headed and rebellious young woman from the Southern Water Tribe who is "ready to take on the world". The series plans to follow Korra as she faces an anti-bender revolt while mastering the art of Airbending from Aang and Katara's son, Tenzin.

Storyline
Korra is a rebellious girl from the Southern Water Tribe. As the Avatar, she has already mastered Waterbending, Earthbending and Firebending. She will learn Airbending from Aang and Katara's son Tenzin. The primary and only confirmed setting is Republic City, a "metropolis powered by steampunk-type technology", "inhabited by people from all four nations". There are Anti-Benders in Republic City who are strongly against the art of bending. Here, Korra must deal with rampant crime and an anti-bender revolt.

Development
Although the creators of the show had planned an ending to the show, the success of Avatar: The Last Airbender caused Nickelodeon to ask for more episodes. The creators then came up with an idea of the next Avatar, this time a girl named Korra. They decided upon a female Avatar after the large audience of females of the original show and the adoration of the headstrong female characters by the female fan base, and felt it was time to have a big action franchise with a female in the lead instead of the traditional male role.

The title for the new mini-series was trademarked by Nickelodeon in May 2010 and leaked by the media shortly afterward; more information was revealed in late June 2010, just prior to the release of the feature film . The new show was officially announced at the San Diego Comic Con on July 22, 2010. The show is expected to be darker and more mature than the original show; however, the creators are not attempting to target a new audience, intending to balance mature themes with a sense of fun and adventure.



From April 2010, Nickelodeon began to hire staff for the production for Avatar: Legend of Korra. Many former crew members for the original series are returning for the sequel. Sifu Kisu, the martial art instructor and consultant for the original series, is returning. Other personnel from the original series returning for the sequel include Joaquim Dos Santos, Ki Hyun Ryu, and JM Animation. Ki Hyun Ryu was a character designer, and JM animation was one of the two Korean Animation Studios for the original series.

The mini-series will be set in an all-new setting in a familiar, but changed world. Mike and Bryan have said that the world of Avatar has "definitely changed, and evolved, and advanced, but we're very conscious of keeping the same feeling. Not totally different, but it's definitely generations later." Republic City is intended to be the only major location, in order to avoid repeating the around-the-world adventures seen in the original series.

Casting
Voices for the mini-series have been cast, and recording has begun. In an interview, Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of Momo and Appa on Avatar: The Last Airbender, confirmed that he has returned to voice another creature and person on the upcoming show, Avatar: Legend of Korra, and that his daughters auditioned for a flashback scene to play five-year old Korra, and one of them received the part. Dante Basco stated that he will return to voice a character. He confirmed via Twitter that his role will have something to do with Zuko, and that one of the new episodes will be entitled "Skeleton in the Closet." Rob Paulsen of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain fame announced via Twitter that he will be joined on set with the legendary Academy Award winning actress Eva Marie-Saint, though he seems to have a small role in the series.

Music
Jeremy Zuckerman of The Track Team has said he will 'absolutely' return to compose the music for the show during a panel at Comic-Con 2010. However, he has not yet started working on the series, so no music for the series has been produced as of yet. The Track Team has said that the music will consist of "the Roaring '20s with an Asian twist."

Line Test Video
A recently leaked video shows what appears to be an unfinished line test from a scene in the upcoming series (screenshot located directly to the right of this section). In this 9-second clip, we see what looks to be Korra fighting two opponents without the use of bending. Actually, she demonstrates various forms and fighting styles that resemble techniques from several bending arts.

In the first panel, Korra is setting up a move that was used several times in Waterbending, specifically a form that involves the turning of an opponent's force against them. Korra uses this form to block herself from her first opponent's attacks, then uses it to destabilize him, allowing her to effectively overwhelm him with a series of jabs and punches aimed at the chest and head. She then transitions into a rooted stance seen in the second panel to finish him off, which is quite similar to the stances used by Earthbenders prior to and during the performance of a move. A second opponent charges immediately following the first opponent's defeat, and Korra continues to use earth-based forms to counter his attacks. We see in the third panel that Korra directs an upward kick towards her opponent's face in order to stun him. This kick is the same move used by Earthbenders to lift boulders, as well as the same form used by Firebenders to create blazing rings and arcs of fire. Another Firebending-inspired move is seen in the fourth panel, where we see Korra utilizing a move similar to the one Zuko used to throw Azula off her balance during their Agni Kai.

This clip has not been confirmed to be legitimate, although the fact that it originated in Korean studios and that it bears striking similarities to the concept designs used in the first series suggests that this is a reliable clip.

Other Rumors
These storyline elements remain unconfirmed.
 * The series may continue for more than 12 episodes if it gains enough popular support.
 * This happened with Avatar: The Last Airbender, which was initially ordered for 13 episodes, but continued for a total of 61.
 * However, it is important to note that the creators have stated that they intend for the spin-off to be a mini-serving, serving as a possible indication that it will only run for 12 episodes.
 * Aang will likely be seen in the Spirit World as Korra's spirit guide, much like Roku and past Avatars were to Aang in the series' predecessor.
 * This seems possible as Aang commented that no being apart from a previous Avatar can actually teach, or at least offer guidance to, the current Avatar about their duties beyond bending.
 * Flashbacks pertaining to characters from the first series may be seen in Avatar: Legend of Korra. This may be what was implied by Michael Dante DiMartino when he mentioned that there was a "definite link" between the old series and the spin-off.
 * Flashbacks in the new series may provide insight to what the group did following The War, including Zuko's search for his mother, among others.
 * Flashbacks may also give insight on the development of Republic City, since a metropolis so large had to gain more people in more than 75 years.
 * It is possible that Republic City existed during the original series, but perhaps with a different name and as part of another nation.
 * Andrea Romano, the voice casting director of Avatar: Legend of Korra has stated that the previous generation of characters has died off and will not be the show's focus. However, she has not ruled out the possibility that previous characters may appear in flashbacks.
 * As mentioned, the Cabbage Merchant will not appear but "his legacy will be present in some form." It is not yet known how, but one possibility is that a merchant of another product will keep running into Korra in a similar fashion as the Cabbage Merchant kept running into Team Avatar.