The Avatar animated series had to change its name because of James Cameron

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The Nickelodeon show had to add "The Last Airbender" to its title

Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: The Last Airbender
(Image credit: Disney/Nickelodeon)

Animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender had to change its original title thanks to James Cameron’s Avatar, according to the series director. While the show began airing in 2005, more than four years before Avatar opened in theaters, Cameron already held the rights to the name. 

The animated series focuses on Aang, an Avatar who can bend all four elements and serves as a bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world. Giancarlo Volpe, who directed 19 episodes of the show, shared insight into the title issues on Twitter. 

"In 2004 we learned that we had to change the name of our show from 'Avatar' to 'Avatar the Last Airbender' because James Cameron already had the rights to a movie called Avatar," he wrote (H/T Variety). "Now the sequel is called 'The Way of Water.' If part 3 is called 'The Firebending Masters' we riot."

While Cameron only released his groundbreaking movie Avatar in 2009, he’d been working on it since 1994 when he wrote an 80-page treatment. Filming was initially due to start after Titanic in 1997, but the director has spoken about how technology was not yet up to the standard he needed to achieve his vision.

Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to his groundbreaking 2009 movie is also almost out. Avatar: The Way of Water opens in theaters on December 6, and the first reactions have been pretty glowing. The follow-up is set more than a decade after the first movie and focuses on Jake Sully and Neytiri as they try to keep their family safe by any means necessary.

Meanwhile, Avatar: The Last Airbender ran between 2005 and 2008 but has been ongoing through films, comics, and novels. It’s also set for a new live-action series on Netflix as well as a movie produced by Paramount due out in 2025.

Fay Watson
Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.