The SDCC 2022 animated film Last Airbender features Aang and his friends as adults

At today Avatar: The Last Airbender Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Nickelodeon’s Avatar Studios announced the theme of their first animated Avatar film. The flick, which differs from the Netflix live-action TV series where co-creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko refrained from citing creative differences, will focus on the adventures of Aang and his friends as young adults .

Voice actor Janet Varney recorded a message for fans at the panel, which Nickelodeon later tweeted for the world to see:

“There’s a lot of rumor going around, a lot of speculation and a lot of excitement — I can feel it, too,” Varney said, looking up from a copy of an Avatar sling. “But we thought it was time to set the record straight. Avatar Studios’ first feature-length film will focus on Avatar Aang and his friends.”

Aang was the star of Avatar: The Last Airbender (sometimes known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang), but as an Avatar he had many past lives and at least one future one. Varney voiced Avatar Korra, Aang’s successor and star of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, which took place decades after Aang’s time. And fans have also shown great interest in avatars from the past, such as the warrior Avatar Kyoshi, the novel’s star, who is seen in Varney’s hands.

But according to the panel, this new film will focus on a time never before featured on an Avatar show: Aang and his friends as young adults. And that’s a pretty enticing mystery for fans, too.

Find all of Polygon’s coverage of SDCC 2022 news, trailers and more here.