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Paramount’s movie slate for the upcoming year included the earlier announced film fromAvatar: The Last Airbenderanimated universe. With the working title ofAang: The Last Airbender,the film’s voice cast will be led by Dave Bautista and Eric Nam. Nam is set to play the titular role of Aang, meaning that Zach Tyler Eisen will not be returning to his iconic voice role. While it came as no surprise, fans are largely disappointed over the recasting of Aang in the new animated movie.
Only one actor from the originalAvatarcast was retained in this project, which comes after nearly two decades since the Nickelodeon series dropped. Dante Basco will continue to voice Zuko in the film. Interestingly, the other voice cast members of the movie include Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, and Roman Zaragoza.
Fans Furious Over Lead Actor Not Returning ToAvatar: The Last AirbenderMovie
Paramount announced plans forAvatar: The Last Airbenderduring CinemaCon 2024 and fans are divided on some of the creative decisions (via Variety). The original series that ran on Nickelodeon for three seasons was a legacy show that created loyal fandoms. However, these fans were disappointed to learn that their favorite characters would not be voiced by the same cast from the old series.
Avatar: The Last Airbender May Have Divided the Fans But One Netflix Star Wanted to Give it His All: “I didn’t take that task lightly”
The film made the creative decision tolet go of all but one cast memberfrom the 2005 animated series.Dante Basco, who played Zuko, was perhaps the only proper non-white cast member of the original series. However, those close to the film are claiming that most of the original voice cast changed from teens to adults in the intervening period.
Fans on X were particularly bummed about Eric Nam replacing Zach Tyler Eisen.Eisen immortalized the voice of the vibrant Aangin the series. One fan mentioned that the studio is committing a mistake by recasting such an iconic voice. Another fan also agreed, sharing that it was lame to recast Aang.
Fans also shared how they missed Mae Whitman and Jack De Sena, who voiced the roles of Katara and Sokka. They also questioned the studio’s intention to only return Basco to his original role. Some fan reactions read:
Dante Basco will return to voice Zuko in the upcoming 2025 ‘AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER’ film.
He is the only cast member of the GAANG from the original series who will reprise their role.pic.twitter.com/j66XV4gUoo
— Discuss Avatar (@DiscussAvatar)August 25, 2025
Let’s go! You can’t replace a voice like that too iconic.
— Eddie (@OHMYDIAZ)July 06, 2025
That’s so lame. Aangs original voice actor shoulda came back to play an older Aang
— charlie (@SsbCharlie)July 11, 2025
I don’t get why he’s the only one that got brought back.
— Av (@MarioEmmet)July 13, 2025
https://twitter.com/Boneta07/status/1778549803401527788
I’m super excited that Dante is coming back, Zuko doesn’t feel like Zuko without him. But what about Zack and Mae?? I love their voice acting for Sokka and Katata 😭
— Sarah ⎊ 🇵🇸 (@sarahstargalaxi)July 04, 2025
According to reports,Dave Bautistawill voice a central villain character to Nam’s Aang. The animated film also got a potential release date from the studio, October 10th, 2025.
Why Is Zach Tyler Eisen Not Returning As Aang?
While Zach Tyler Eisen was a phenomenal voice actor, he has long left the acting life behind. He retired from acting and voice acting to focus more on behind-the-scenes roles. AfterAvatar: The Last Airbenderwrapped up Eisen kept himself hidden from the public. He wanted to pursue the life of a normal teenager afterAvatar. He then decided to go to school and get a degree in media and communications.
After years in hiding, Eisen returned to a public platform through an interview on theTed Jones Worldpodcast. Eisen shared his thoughts on the live-action project on Netflix during this interview. Later, he appeared alongside Dante Basco to rewatch the episode ofSozin’s Cometon aTwitch stream.
“We never really see that explored”: Daniel Dae Kim Wants Netflix’s Avatar Season 2 to Explore General Iroh in a Way Even the Original The Last Airbender Show Couldn’t
While we may see Eisen coming up with a project of his own in the future, it is highly unlikely that he will return for any voice roles, let alone the role of Aang.
Avatar: The Last Airbenderanimated show is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3017
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
