Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender established this exciting fantasy cartoon series in 2005. Seven years later, The Legend of Korra pushed the world of avatars and four nations into a new era. It made it clear what should change and what should stay the same in the world Aang calls home, and it's also easy to see what could go right or wrong. Fans have a mixed to positive view of The Legend of Korraand ideally it will help the creators to do Avatar: Seven Havens to the best cartoon it can be.
Currently, details are scarce about the setting and characters for Avatar: Seven Havensa series slated for release on Paramount+ sometime in 2027. What fans know paints a chaotic and desperate picture of a world on the brink of collapse, all while young Avatar Pavi struggles to find her place in a world that doesn't even want her. Every element of Avatar: Seven Havensboth new and familiar, must be handled just right if this cartoon franchise wants to be three for three on the small screen.
Team Avatar needs a strong and lovable lineup
Or lack of a team for good reason
One of the most important and inspiring parts of Avatar: The Last Airbenders world is the pure power of friendship, one that many Avatars have warmly embraced. In his time, Aang relied heavily on Katara and Aang at first, then gladly accepted Toph Beifong into the crew before Zuko and Suki also found their places in the Gaang. Korra had her own Team Avatar after realizing she couldn't take down Amon and the Equalists on her own.
Now it's up to Avatar Pavi to put together her own Team Avatar, or maybe she'll join an existing team to mix things up a bit. Anyway, Avatar: Seven Havens can only live or die based on the kind of crew Avatar Pavi will have, as friends are a reflection of the hero and eat up a lot of screen time. And if Pavi has no permanent team of his own, that story can be just as interesting if written just right.
Spirits and humans need a complex and thematic relationship
Spirits are here to stay, and that should mean something
Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are both fantasy cartoons with some strong supernatural elements in them as well, like the presence of spirits. These creatures were sprinkled throughout both series, such as Koh the Face Stealer, Ocean Spirit, and Raava and Vaatu. More and more these spirits played a real role in the flow of events, and they are not going anywhere. Korra herself made sure that humans and spirits are always neighbors, for better or for worse.
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When Avatar Pavi will be born, humans and spirits will have co-existed not for a few months, but for a number of years, perhaps over a century or so. It means Avatar: Seven Havens is tasked with portraying a properly blended world of both humans and spirits, beyond anything fans saw in Avatar Wan's flashbacks. Spirits and humans may influence each other more than ever now, or they may be mortal enemies who fear and despise each other.
The Seven Havens must be cool and memorable places
Succeeding the four nations is a great responsibility
The setting itself is essential i Avatar universe, such as showing how the terrible Fire Nation leadership turned that island nation into a universally feared war machine, or the symbolic walls of Ba Sing Se. That attitude expanded even further The Legend of Korra when more Air Temples and the newly founded Republic City were added to the map. Next up are the seven havens, and those must be interesting because they replace what came before.
The exact details are uncertain, but it seems Avatar: Seven Havens wiping out the old world order in favor of a kingdom on the brink of collapse. Only the seven refuges remain as hospitable homes for humans and/or spirits, indicating that the Air Nomads, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation are no more. It's a brave move to replace the beloved settings, so these havens had better deliver.
Avatar: Seven Havens needs a strong central villain to hold it together
The Next Fire Lord Ozai Better Be Awesome
No action cartoon is complete without an awesome and terrifying villain that holds the story together. The original Avatar: The Last Airbender did well with Fire Lord Ozai, followed by the likes of sinister bloodbender Amon, spirit-living Unalaq, anarchist Zaheer and totalitarian metalbender Kuvira. Most of the big themes have now been covered thanks to these villains, so the big bad too Avatar: Seven Havens may have to get creative.
All four elements have appeared in the hands of at least one or more villains in Avatar franchise, along with the power of spirits, so Pavi's ultimate enemy needs a pretty neat twist to not feel like a repeat of someone else. Themes like oppression, chaos, populist movements and technology have all been done as well, so there isn't much left to work with. So, Avatar: Seven Havens has a big mission here: to create a villain that feels fresh but also appropriate for this fantasy world.
Pavi's personal story must feel heavy and consistent
Pavi is the enemy of the world as Avatar
It is already clear that life will not be easy for Avatar Pavi in the future world of the Seven Refuges. A new twist on the franchise is how the Avatar is the enemy of the world for the first time, and whether that's due to an Avatar's mistake or humanity's own misunderstandings remains to be seen. In any case, Pavi has the whole world to fight, and that must feel obvious right from the start. This is unlike any challenge Aang or Korra fought with, and Seven refuges would be wise to lean into it.
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This could play out in all sorts of exciting ways, like how or if the widespread hostility will dampen Avatar Pavi's mood or change her. Pavi might fall back to the unrelenting hostility, and if so, she'll definitely need friends like Jae the Airbender and members of a possible Team Avatar to catch her when she falls. Equally interesting is the idea of Pavi restoring the good name of the Avatar cycle, one way or another.
Avatar: Seven Havens should make Pavi vulnerable in convincing ways
Pavi must be neither a whiner nor a stoic badass
A truism for all action/fantasy protagonists is that they have issues to deal with. Avatar Aang was faced with the incredible grief of losing all of his fellow Air Nomads, and he also had a life-changing sense of death when Azula zapped him. Korra suffered severe traumas of her own, from temporarily losing her bending to being cut off from the Avatar Cycle and being poisoned thanks to the Red Lotus. Pavi needs his own baggage, and it should be written carefully.
First, Pavi's challenges, personal miseries, and external threats must not resemble anything Aang or Korra experienced, and given Pavi's young age, it may be questionable whether Pavi's suffering exceeds Aang's or Korra's. Most critically of all, Pavi's reaction and thoughts about her problems must be balanced, because if she goes through with the problems, Mary Sue accusations will roll in. Conversely, if Pavi is just overwhelmed or complains too much, no one will like her. The middle ground is how fans can come to love this young new Avatar.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Release date
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2005 – 2008
- Network
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Nickelodeon
- Showrunner
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Michael Dante DiMartino
- Directors
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Giancarlo Volpe, Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan, Dave Filoni, Joaquim Dos Santos, Anthony Lioi
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Zach Tyler Eisen
Aang (voice)
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