Avatar: The Last Airbender Iroh voice actor speaks out on Netflix drama
Netflix / Nickelodeon
Avatar fans around the world were stunned when the series creators announced their exit from the Netflix live-action adaptation on August 12. The duo had been working on the new show for months.
Addressing the situation, the voice actor for Uncle Iroh, Greg Baldwin, cast doubt on the project in an August interview. The star hit out at studio executives on social media for meddling into projects and ‘ruining’ them.
Netflix / John StaubUncle Iroh voice actor on Netflix live-action Avatar
On August 12, creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko announced on Instagram that they were leaving the Netflix adaptation of Avatar. The creative duo said the streaming platform had gone back on their promise to support their vision.
Reacting to the announcement, voice actor for Uncle Iroh, Greg Baldwin, weighed in on the situation in a series of tweets. The star was stunned by the update, and said he was weary of the project without the creators on board.
“Seriously… I’m gonna have to ruminate on this. I don’t know if I trust Netflix to create a decent adaptation of ATLA without creative vision and input of its creators,” he said.
Twitter: @gregbaldwinirohAfter taking some time to think about it, the acting veteran then returned with a second tweet about his experiences in the industry: “I worked at studios for many years. Once the “suits” weigh in on a project and start p**sing on it to justify their jobs…Everything goes to s**t.”.
Despite the Avatar creators’ exit from the project, Netflix released a statement confirming that will continue on ahead with the project without the their input.
Like Baldwin, many fans of the show were angry at the news. The backlash became so big that #CancelALTALiveAction was trending on Twitter. Only time will tell if the new version will live up to the beloved animation.
