Monday, February 02, 2009

Thank you, Kung-Fu Action Jeebus....

Whew.

Avatar fans managed to dodge a bullet...or perhaps we all screamed loudly enough until the Jesse-McCartney-as-Zuko bullet was deflected after scheduling conflicts pulled the singer/actor from the role that, up until the end of January, he'd all but secured. (Now, try reading that run-on sentence in one breath.)

But Shyamalan's got a tweeest for us: he's secured Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire for the Prince of Fire. If the hype and talent of Slumdog can speak for his talent, then I'm crossing my fingers and hoping he'll do his best to please the fans, instead of pretending to pander the way McCartney did. (Dude, get the facts straight--the director is a HUGE fan and if you don't know anything about the cartoon...)


Also cast is Jessica Jade Andres in the role of Kyoshian warrior Suki--a surprise to me, considering her role in the first season (i.e. what will be the first movie) was nominal.

I haven't ranted or raged much about the casting of what was, until Patel's appearance, an all-white cast. And I'll continue not to because other people will do it for me much more eloquently. But gods, I am so grateful McCartney's out. I just don't think Theodore from Alvin and the Chipmunks is a good fit for angstmaster Zuko.

Or maybe he will be, after all the flak he's gotten over the role...

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