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Live-action Zuko actor Dallas Liu has responded to the recent wave of animated Avatar: The Last Airbender leaks that have plagued the upcoming Avatar Aang movie.
"It was a huge bummer, because I was really excited to watch it," Liu tells GamesRadar+ of the leaks.
Back in April, Twitter user StillDissin claimed they were accidentally emailed the entirety of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, a years-later sequel to the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Soon, a non-watermarked version of the entire movie was uploaded to social media before being removed via DMCA strikes. In late April, a 26-year-old Singaporean male was arrested in connection with the leak after 'unauthorized remote access to the server' (via The Straits Times).
Despite the disappointment, Liu – the latest in a lineage of Zuko actors as part of Netflix's live-action adaptation – remains upbeat about the project.
"Steven Yeun playing Zuko, are you joking? Adult Zuko? Yeah, I think that's cool," Liu says. "Because I'm always just a fan of Zuko in any sort of artistic way. So Dante Basco, Dev Patel, even. Steven Yeun. I think those are all great people who are playing this character. So, I was really excited to see his version of what that would have been like, for sure."
Upon wrapping production, director Lauren Montgomery suggested that Avatar Aang should be seen in theaters despite it being shifted to a release on Paramount Plus.
Montgomery remarked on Instagram, "The recent decision to move us from theatrical to streaming might give the impression that the quality wasn’t sufficient, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. This movie deserves to be seen on a big screen!!!"
Aang, The Last Airbender features a new voice cast as the Gaang come into contact with an ancient airbender. The cast includes Eric Nam as Aang, Dionne Quan as Toph, Steven Yeun as Zuko, and Dave Bautista as Airbender Tagah.
Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, meanwhile, returns for its second season on Netflix on June 25. It follows Aang, Katara, Zuko, and newcomer Toph as they make their way to Ba Sing Se for guidance on the imminent Fire Nation threat.
For more, check out all our picks for the best anime on Netflix.
