Daniel Dae Kim is joining the cast of Netflix‘s upcoming live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series, the streaming company announced on Wednesday.
Kim, known for playing Jin in Lost and Chin Ho Kelly in Hawaii Five-0, will play Fire Lord Ozai in the newest adaptation of the 2005 Nickelodeon animated series. In the original show, the character is the most merciless villain to appear. He leads the Fire Nation’s army to conquer and rule the world, running over whoever is in his path. The villain goes as far as fighting his own son Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu), giving him a permanent scar and banishing the teenager from his kingdom. As abusive and reckless as his dad is, Zuko tries to regain his honor by capturing the Avatar, Aang (Gordon Cormier) and his friends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley).
Original Avatar creators leave production
Netflix announced the series in 2018, originally counting with creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino. However, the duo left the production of the series in 2020 following creative differences with the streaming company. The project is now in the hands of showrunner Albert Kim (Nikita), with the help of executive producers Dan Lin (Alladin, The Lego Movie), Lindsey Liberatore (Walker) and Michael Goi (Swamp Thing).
Kim’s long history with Avatar
This will be Daniel Dae Kim’s fourth appearance in the Avatar universe. The actor was in the original animated series, voicing one-off character General Fong in the first episode of Book Two: Earth. In 2007, he returned as Fong in a video game of the series called Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth. Then, the actor came back yet again in the spin-off The Legend of Korra to give life to Hiroshi Sato, who appeared in seven episodes. Kim teased the announcement of his latest role with a picture alongside showrunner Albert Kim on Instagram on Oct. 30.
