[Source: Super Hero Hype]

A new entry in the “Avatar” franchise is about to soar and James Cameron has no part in it.

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is a completely different fictional world from Cameron’s Pandora but the two similarly named dueling sci-fi fantasy properties have kept throwing out new entries over the decades.

On Thursday — two years after the debut of “Avatar: The Way of Water” — Netflix offers “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a multi-part, lush live-action adaptation that mixes adventure and friendship, martial arts and philosophy, all through an Asian lens.

It’s a potentially fraught step because fans of this universe are very protective of the franchise, which began as a beloved cartoon series in the anime style airing on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008.

“When you have an opportunity to be part of a world that is beloved by generations of people, it can be daunting sometimes because it’s a big responsibility,” says actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. “But, at the same time, as performers, you don’t often get chances to sort of dive into worlds like that and to be part of gigantic productions.”

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is centered on a world with four tribes — air, water, earth and fire. Some can manipulate or “bend” their respective elements: hurl giant blobs of water, raise up rocks or zap someone with a wave of flames.

The eight-part saga starts with this world unbalanced — there has been a war for nearly 100 years as the Fire Nation tries to take over the planet, pretty much wiping out the airbenders along the way.

“I never asked to be special,” Aang says early in the first episode. “The world needs you, Aang,” he is told by an elder. “I don’t want this power,” replies Aang. The elder counters: “Which is why you will make a great Avatar.”

“It’s Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey,” says Daniel Dae Kim, who plays the leader of the Fire Nation, connecting the series to such franchises as “Star Wars” and ”The Matrix”. “It makes it relatable to any kid or anyone to say, ‘I don’t have to be born with a sense of destiny.’ Anyone can have that destiny thrust upon them.”

Netflix has created a lusciously crafted universe, where our heroes soar over roiling seas aboard bison that fly and armies battle with staffs, mid-air flips and power blasts. Port cities teem with elegant sailing ships, costumes are colorful and pockets of humor and romance leaven the action sequences.