Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra voice actors Dante Basco (Prince Zuko) and Janet Varney (Korra) have teamed up for an epic podcast called Avatar: Braving the Elements. Every Tuesday, the dynamic Avatar duo revisits old episodes, where they discuss notable battles, break down key themes, and even share behind-the-scenes trivia. In this week's episode, Dee Bradley Baker (the voice of Appa) is the featured guest.
IGN chatted with Basco and Varney about some of the biggest "what-ifs" from the franchise, as well as what might be in store for the future of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon.
Read on or watch the video below or at the top of the page to check out our full interview with Zuko and Korra:
Could Princess Azula Have Been Redeemed?
The battle between Zuko and his sister, Azula, in the Avatar: The Last Airbender finale was one of the most epic animated fight sequences ever! While Azula's story has continued in the comic books, we wanted to know if Basco believes there's still hope for her character to be redeemed.
"I have brothers and sisters in real life, so I'm always the one rooting for my siblings," Basco told IGN. "And so of course, I would love to have seen Azula be redeemed as Zuko has been redeemed. Zuko is a great redemption arc, who doesn't want to see that in his family member. So who knows as the stories go on? I know she went down a different kind of place in the comic books, but I think there's always room for hope."
Would Korra Have Let Fire Lord Ozai Live if She Was in Aang's Situation?
We all know Korra can be quick to anger when she's pushed to her emotional limits, so would she have been as merciful to Fire Lord Ozai as Aang was in the Avatar finale?
"I would like to think that by Season 4 she would have — well, in Season 4, she was so scared and shell-shocked from everything," Varney explained. "But moving past that into the future, I do think she learned. But had it happened in Season 3, I don't know. I do not know. And that's one of the things that's been so fun about doing the podcast together, is that we've had fans and our fellow actors who play characters in the show, we've had a handful of people really point out it actually really makes sense that Korra and Zuko would end up on a podcast together."
The Future of Avatar: The Last Airbender Universe on Nickelodeon
Back in February, the Paramount+ streaming platform and Nickelodeon announced a new division dedicated to creating new series and movies based in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which will be led by creators and executive producers Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. While nothing official beyond that announcement has been revealed, we wanted to know if the former Avatar stars could shine some light on what's to come.
"Fully sworn to secrecy," Varney exlaimed. "I can't even remember the context of why I found out a few things. But it is one of those things where, as much as people want to know, and I totally understand, I understand that fandom that wants to steal the Game of Thrones script from the set and leak it because everyone's so passionate about it. I get it. But at the same time, I love knowing that I respect and have so much faith, and I know [Dante] does too, in what Mike and Bryan do. I don't need to know anything because I'm supremely confident that the stories that they're going to tell, whatever they are from whatever era, whatever it is, I'm going to be on board for."
You can listen to the Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else podcasts are heard every Tuesday.
David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.