Dev Patel Cast as Zuko in THE LAST AIRBENDER

I think it a bit unfair that you bagged out all the other castings as “they were not of the same ethnicity” as characters in the cartoon yet Dev Patel is clearly not even slightly as pale as Zuko.
I am a fan of Avatar and I am quite pleased with the actors/actresses chosen even if they do not EXACTLY resemble the MADE-UP, DRAWN characters.
thanks.

I am very pleased at the casting of Dev Patel for the character of Zuko. In Slumdog Millionaire, he proved that he is a talented actor capable of playing a passionate role. With his acting skills he should be able to make the transition from villain, to conflicted youth, and finally to charismatic hero.

About the controversy around Dev’s ethnicity… is it really an issue? In most animes, the ethnicity of characters is rarely definite and is usually irrelevant. Unless the series takes place in a specific setting, or race is especially important to the plot, it is unclear.

I think one of the reasons Avatar fans have such a problem with Dev’s casting is that they have an idealized perception of Zuko’s character. Fan (girls) imagine Zuko as being something like a Knight in Shining Armor, and Dev is… somewhat goofy-looking. Point is, castings of fictional characters often clash with the images preconceived by fans. I suppose it will be like the casting of Robert Pattinson in Twilight; once we’re used to it, we’ll wonder why we were so upset initially.

That said, now I’m really interested in who will be playing Azula in the sequel! <3

Ethinicities will not be entirely respected because in the cartoon, the cartoons did not always reflect the “Asian-ness” of the regions here in the real world. In fact, I am hard pressed to find “African/Black” characters anywhere in the series. I am not saying they aren’t there, but just very well concealed. The entire cast in the cartoons were not always “Asian-like”, such as the 3rd-eye’d fire bender, or some of the Air Nomad monks (some looked Caucasian) and finally, not all of the voice actors were Asian, either. Let’s not get too wrapped around the axle about the ethnicity. I won’t. This was supposed to be anime, with international appeal. The cartoon, the story line, and the martial arts appeal to us all with much beauty, elegance and power. I’m gonna go see the movie, and bring my kids to it.

The casting for the show is alright, and some of you are right. They should of switched the casting of Zuko and Sokka. Possibly casted someone else for Katara. Seeing that they’re more winter type of people, but you never know. I mean it can turn out to be a good movie. If it doesn’t do well, well it would turn out like another dragonball. IF you dont like the movie make your own. See how hard it is, and how long it takes to put together the perfect cast, and movie.

And I am a fan of the show. I watched the whole thing, I hope someone does this movie justice one point in time.

i seriously do not like the cast choice for Zuko. dude, he’s like the hottest character and they cast patel? sorry, but no that’s just not right. i would not want jesse mccartney to play zuko at all cuz that’s just wrong as well. but zuko is my favorite character and this news is kinda depresseing.

i liked this change, because you know, dev doesn’t look a lot like zuko, but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than JESSE MCCARTNEY ! i’m an avatar fan, i think (and hope) the movie is gonna be great. i like the cast, too.
avatar is my childhood i grew up watching this cartoon i can’t wait for the movie !!

Not at all! He doesn’t even look like the real one from the series.