Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies have announced that Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun will lend his voice to the upcoming untitled Avatar: The Last Airbender animated feature, marking his return to the beloved universe nearly a decade after voicing Avatar Wan in The Legend of Korra.
The animated film, scheduled for release on January 30, 2026, is directed by Lauren Montgomery, with William Mata serving as co-director. The project is being developed by Avatar co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who are also producing alongside Maryann Garger and Latifa Ouaou.
Details surrounding Yeun’s character remain tightly under wraps, with no official word on which of the Four Nations his character will originate from. He joins an already star-studded voice cast including Dave Bautista, Eric Nam, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, and Román Zaragoza.
This upcoming film is one of several Avatar-related projects in the works as part of the expanding Avatar Studios slate. The studio, launched under Nickelodeon in 2021, aims to explore new stories and revisit fan-favorite characters in the expansive world first introduced in the hit 2005 animated series.
Yeun’s involvement adds considerable prestige to the project. Following his breakout role as Glenn in AMC’s The Walking Dead, Yeun has built a resume spanning both blockbuster and arthouse projects. He received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for his role in Minari, and more recently won Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe awards for his performance in Netflix’s Beef. He’s also made a mark in animation with standout roles in Invincible and Tuca & Bertie.
For fans, Yeun’s return to the Avatar universe is more than casting news—it’s a reunion with a voice that helped define a key moment in the franchise’s lore. Whether he’ll be portraying a hero, a villain, or something in between remains to be seen, but his presence alone signals that this movie is shaping up to be a major moment in the animated landscape of 2026.
Sources: Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter
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