Earlier this week, Netflix officially announced that they would renew Avatar: The Last Airbender for two more seasons. This would allow the creators of the live-action adaption to fully complete Aang’s journey as the Avatar, as the original series only lasted three seasons. A few characters that could appear in future seasons were cut in season one. As this show is “a remix, not a cover,” it’s not unreasonable to assume characters, timelines, and plot points change depending on the season.
Here is a list of actors we fancast in major roles for season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender (also read our fancast back for season 1).
Diana Tsoy – Toph Beifong
It’s hard not to mention Diana Tsoy for the role of Toph Beifong. The actress has not been in many projects but has a small role in 2023’s Peter Pan & Wendy on Disney+. In that reimagining, she plays a “Lost Boy” alongside other girls and boys. She is pretty sassy with her few lines in her never-ending fight with Captain Hook’s crew. Beyond that, she put together a small fan film alongside the stunt crew of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender in 2021’s Toph. While that seems a little too “on-the-nose,” the most important part of the entire short wasn’t her martial arts skills; it was her lack of eye movement while fighting. The character is supposed to be blind, and being able to do stunts without eye movement (something Charlie Cox doesn’t need to deal with as Daredevil) is awe-inspiring. She is currently Korean-Canadian, 14 (the same age as Gordon Cormier), and has practiced Wushu for several years (Action Reel below).
Michelle Yeoh – Avatar Yangchen
Aang’s past avatars were given the front seat in the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Each was given time to speak to Aang directly about the upcoming conflict in the Northern Water Tribe. They cast actors Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi, C.S Lee as Avatar Roku, and Meegwun Fairbrother as Avatar Kuruk. The last Avatar in the cycle that was not depicted in the first season was Avatar Yangchen. We believe in getting the queen of martial arts, Michelle Yeoh, as the last airbending master before Aang. Yeoh’s always calm and often sarcastic demeanor in Shang-Chi, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Brothers Sun would be a perfect role model for the young Avatar, which would be the opposite of the often tough love and strictness of Avatar Kyoshi. Yeoh is 61 years old and of Malaysian descent.
Ke Huy Quan – The Earth King
Ke Huy Quan has had a renaissance lately after his Oscar-award-winning role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. The actor disappeared from Hollywood after his child roles in Indiana Jones and The Goonies. However, he is back and even recently appeared as one of the best parts in Marvel Studios Loki. Quan was able to show the range of “the goofy dad” and “the serious time traveler” in EEOAO. Quan is exactly the actor who could pull off the reverence of the Earth King, as well as being extremely goofy when he is away from the Earth Kingdom palace with Aang. Ke Huy Quan is 52 years old and of Vietnamese descent.
Hiroyuki Sanada – Jeong Jeong
It’s not very hard to see why Hiroyuki Sanada is absolutely fantastic in everything he is in regarding authentic Japanese roles. He is best known for appearing in The Last Samurai, John Wick, Mortal Kombat, and most recently, Shogun. His intensity in every role would make him perfect as Jeong Jeong, Aang’s first firebending teacher. Unfortunately, the character was cut from the season, but that doesn’t mean he can’t appear in future seasons, given he is a secret member of the White Lotus. Sanada could bring his classic intensity to this old Fire Nation general who fought for his country against his ideals. However, it has also made him angry and bitter towards everyone. Plus, Hiroyuki Sanada’s voice is almost exactly like the original series, which is just a plus. Hiroyuki Sanada is 63 years old and of Japanese descent.
Brenda Song – Ursa, The Fire Queen
The creators of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series have the foreknowledge to incorporate plot points from both the novels and comics into their version of the story. One of the references was the Mother of Faces mentioned in season 1. Her mention would directly correlate to the comic involving Ursa, the mother of Zuko and Azula. While many older actresses like Sandra Oh or Lucy Liu could also play the role, they most likely will get a younger actress to play Ursa in flashbacks. Ursa was specifically forced to marry Ozai as a young adult because her grandfather was Avatar Roku. Brenda Song has been gone from Hollywood to raise her real-life son but has since returned to voice a character in The Blue Eyed Samurai. Her voice role as Akemi is a replica of Ursa. A young Japanese woman forced to marry an older Lord in an arranged marriage. Song could bring her real-life emotions as a new mother and her experience on The Blue Eyed Samurai to her role as the loving mother of Zuko. Brenda Song is 35 years old and of American-Thai descent.
Peter Shinkoda – Long Feng
Long Feng is one of the main antagonists in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 beyond those in the Fire Nation. Feng uses the secret organization of the Dai Li as a way to maintain “peace” in Ba Sing Se but abducts and brainwashes anyone who speaks about the war with the Fire Nation. He runs the city from the shadows and completely controls The Earth King. This is why we think actor Peter Shinkoda would be perfect in this role. He essentially controls the New York underground as the leader of The Hand in Marvel’s Daredevil. However, as the character Nobu, he always had higher aspirations to overthrow The Kingpin. That would make Shinkoda the ideal candidate for the role of Long Feng. Shokoda is 52 years old and of Japanese-Canadian descent.
Jung Ho-yeon – Joo Dee
Jung Ho-yeon is the breakout star of Netflix’s Squid Game. She plays Player 067 in the hit series but is often portrayed throughout the series as the quiet and cold player on the team. While Ho-yeon doesn’t have many acting credits, she takes the role seriously and internalizes the character’s loneliness throughout the film. If given the chance, she could bring this same cold loneliness to Joo Dee, the secret informant to Long Feng. While the character always has a massive, unsettling smile due to her brainwashing. Ho-yeon could try to bring the loneliness to the character behind her smiling face. She doesn’t want to spy for the Dai Li but is forced against her will. Ho-Yeon was able to experience so much emotion without even talking in the first episodes of Squid Game. Jung Ho-yeon is 29 years old and of South Korean descent.
Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 will return to Netflix sometime in 2026