On Sunday Netflix held one of it’s biggest events of the year – Tudum: A global fan event.
While the name sounds completely arbitrary, Tudum is the official companion site to Netflix which has exclusive interviews, extra content and behind-the-scenes info that you won’t find on the streaming service itself. The event, which was held in Sao Paulo, Brail, contained all that and more, and was streamed to viewers all over the world.
But if you don’t want to watch hours of footage, we’ve compiled some of the biggest announcements from the event for ya.
Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series
If you’ve ever wondered why Avatar: The Last Airbender fans are so intense about this fkn kid’s show, you’ve got to give the original animated series a watch. It was one of those animated series that stayed with fans from childhood well into adulthood. It had heart, drama, emotion, and complexity and as the fan base got older, the show matured with them.
While there was a spin-off animated series called Avatar: The Legend Of Korra that the fandom generally loved, there was also, unfortunately, an absolutely horrendous live-action movie released in 2010 called The Last Airbender. Despite being directed by M. Night Shyamalan and featuring Dev Patel and a relatively unknown Nicola Petlz Beckham in the cast, the film was slammed by fans for being white-washed and completely missing the tone of the original series.
So when a live-action series was announced, it was a pretty huge deal and fans were kind of hesitant. Then, everything changed when Netflix announced the cast for the upcoming series. The cast accurately reflected the races of characters shown in the original series, featuring some pretty beloved actors including George Takei, Danny Pudi and Utkarsh Ambudkar.
Showrunner Albert Kim described the show as “a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in.”
And now, at Tudum they’ve given us a first glimpse of the four main stars in character.
The main characters consist of Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio Tarbell as Katara and Ian Ousley as Sokka. Dallas Lui plays Zuko and Azula is played by Elizabeth Yu.
For a full cast list, click HERE. But feast your eyes on the long-awaited first look below.
One Piece live-action series
Avatar: The Last Airbender isn’t the only animated series with a cult following that Netflix is bringing to life. It’s been teasing the development of a live-action series of the beloved anime One Piece for yonks. So fans were bloody stoked to see the streaming giants finally release a trailer.
And the best bit? The adventurous series is only a couple of months away, due to hit Netflix on August 31.
Squid Game: The Challenge
Ever since Netflix announced that they would be making a reality series based on the worldwide hit drama series Squid Game in June 2022, fans have been patiently waiting for a little peek. During the global fan event, Netflix revealed that Squid Game: The Challenge is hitting the streaming platform in November this year.
It also shared a look at what it took to make the elaborate set behind the scenes. The series may be familiar to you because of the controversy surrounding the show earlier this year.
The final victor will take home $4.56 million dollar cash prize. Not too shabby for a reality show, huh?
To have a look at the making of the set, which was made in an aeroplane hangar in the UK, click HERE.
Squid Game Season Two
The first season of Squid Game was such a huge hit, it broke Netflix records worldwide. Hell, it even scored its own replica reality show. So you can imagine the absolute hype surrounding the second season of the batshit drama.
Yesterday, during the Tudum event, we were introduced to some new players risking it all to play the life-threatening game in Season Two of the long-awaited series.
I find this show so fkn hard to watch but I just can’t look away. It’s a disgusting masterpiece and I am a pussy.
A new cast member in Stranger Things Season Five
If Season Five of Stranger Things couldn’t get more compelling, Netflix have just announced that Linda Hamilton will be joining the cast for the final season.
Not ringing any bells? Linda is best known for her role in The Terminator.
A first look at Rebel Moon
Fans of sci-fi were stoked to see some behind-the-scenes footage of Zack Snyder‘s most recent contribution to the genre, Rebel Moon. Up until now, fans had only seen a couple of images from the project but now we get an entire video.
The story follows a mysterious woman named Kora (Sofia Boutella) who must save a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy from a tyrannical ruling force. She bands together with a group of warrior misfits trying to save the galaxy. Slay!
It ain’t much, but it’s enough to keep us going until it starts streaming on December 22.
The Witcher Season Three
Finally, we were given a juicy trailer for Season Three of The Witcher.
The bittersweet reason why I’m so stoked for this one is that it’s Henry Cavill‘s last season playing the hunky, leather pants-wearing, monster-slaying Geralt of Rivia. While I’m keen for this season, I don’t know if his confirmed replacement, Liam Hemsworth, has the same joie de vivre (AKA appeal in leather pants) that Mr Cavill does.
So there we have it! Lots of content to look forward to from the streaming big dogs. Nice one!
