Just hours after the official production start on James Cameron’s AVATAR was announced, Paramount and M. Night Shyamalan said “oh yeah?” and then, accompanied by a droopy “beeeoooo” noise, revealed plans for their own AVATAR movie. Rather than a long-in-the-making, technologically groundbreaking sci-fi epic, Shyamalan is opting to adapt to the big screen a Nickelodeon series called “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, to which you’re initial response might be “that cartoon with that freak with the arrow on his forehead?” and to which your second response might be “…………..” You’re right on both counts, and this live-action version of the show about an irresponsible successor to a long line of Avatars who must step up when the hostile Fire Nation threatens to enslave the Earth, Water, and Air Nations, may only be the first in a planned trilogy. Funnily enough, a war has apparently begun between this project and Cameron’s for the use of the title AVATAR. Paramount has said it has registered the name for Shams’ project with the MPAA, while a Fox rep said, “We own the movie title ‘Avatar.’ There won’t be another film called ‘Avatar’ coming from anyplace.” My bet’s on that guy. Shyamalan is still shopping other projects, so his tentatively titled AVATAR may not necessarily be the next one we see from him.
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