Netflix’s upcoming live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series may have found its King Bumi. A new report from Knight Edge Media indicates that actor Utkarsh Ambudkar, best known for his roles in Pitch Perfect, Free Guy, and Ghosts on CBS, will appear as a guest star as the Earth Kingdom ruler of Omashu.
No official confirmation has been given yet, nor has Netflix revealed how many episodes Ambudkar will reportedly appear in, but the actor did share to Instagram in February footage of him having a mold of his face made for an upcoming production he kept hush-hush. Also during production, the actor reportedly followed and was followed back by series stars Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio Tarbell, and Elizabeth Yu.
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Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series previously announced it will star Cormier as Aang the Avatar, Tarbell as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Yu as Azula, Maria Zhang as Suki, Ken Leung as Commander Zhao, Lim Kay Siu as Gyatso, Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi, Tamlyn Tomita as Yukari, and Casey Camp-Horinek as Gran Gran. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee will play Uncle Iroh and Daniel Dae Kim will play Fire Lord Ozai.
In an interview with ComicBook.com in September 2021, Liu spoke about the pressure on the actors going into the first season of the highly-anticipated adaptation. “… because it is such a beloved show, I feel like there is some pressure to do a great job, and not that I’m doubting anyone or the project at all, but this is the biggest project and the biggest role that I’ve been able to take part in now, especially leading with a character like Zuko, who’s so complex and one of – if not the favorite, one of the favorites – of the show with his fire bending and his history.”
“I mean, he’s such an incredible character and he has one of my favorite character developments in all of the animated series,” he continued. “So, I mean, I’m just as much of a fan of Zuko as everyone else is. So I mean, obviously I’m excited because this is like a dream, but at the same time, it gets a little nerve-[racking]. You know? To do a good job, and I mean, at the end of the day I can only do what I’m capable of, but I hope that people enjoy my performance.” The streamer has yet to release a premiere date.
