Avatar: The Legend of Korra Actress Looks Back at Series’ Lasting Influence After 10 Years

It was ten years ago since we met the plucky Avatar Korra in Nickelodeon’s Legend of Korra, and while fans can debate about which Avatar show is better, Korra has undoubtedly made an impact on American animation overall.

Talking to IGN, Korra voice actress Janet Varney talks about the series lasting influence and how it’s opened the door for queer representation in modern animation. She says, “It forever changed my life… Because of interactions with people who enjoyed the show who felt represented in that way, who felt seen and who, even in some cases, saw a window of opportunity to talk about their own sexuality or identification with family and friends. It continues to just fill me up every time.”

While LGBTQ+ representation has become more apparent in shows like Steven Universe and The Owl House, Varney recalls a time when The Legend of Korra’s finale with Korra and Asami was considered such a big deal when it aired. “I remember saying when the episode aired that in 10 years the best gift that we will get from our culture is people seeing the episode and wondering why that was such a big deal, because it’s not that big of a deal now,” Varney recalls.

For now, Netflix is gearing up for the release of their live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but fans who are following creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have their eyes set on what’s to come from the newly announced Avatar Studios. While it would be great to get a new Avatar story, I’m excited to see how else they could explore the world.

Konietzko explains:

“The Avatar world is still really fertile ground creatively for us and our collaborators… What is exciting is now we can think of how to push this in different directions simultaneously and how it all links with separate productions. We’re just looking at all the ways that technology can help us tell better stories easier and more efficiently.”

We don’t know when we’ll get a look at the next project from Avatar Studios, but fingers crossed we get something this year.