With “10 times the number of sets we had for season 1,” the cast and crew discuss how they brought the Ba Sing Se chapter to life.

On set of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 with Toph, more practical sets, and ‘Fire Nation succession’ (exclusive)

With "10 times the number of sets we had for season 1," the cast and crew discuss how they brought the Ba Sing Se chapter to life.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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June 3, 2026 10:00 a.m. ET

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In early March 2024, the principal stars of *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, Netflix’s live-action retelling of the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon, gathered over Zoom under uncertain pretenses. A request for a seemingly general meeting about season 2 came “out of the blue, completely random” within weeks of the season 1 premiere, Ian Ousley (boomerang-throwing Sokka) tells **.

The show seemed like a success on paper. Based on the publicly shared stats, the show reached 21.2 million views within four days on Netflix, topped the streamer’s English-language TV chart, and broke into the top 10 in 92 countries. Yet, when it came to the prospect of a renewal, “Some people felt confident and some people were really very nervous,” Kiawentiio (waterbending Katara) notes.

“You just never know,” Elizabeth Yu (Fire Nation Princess Azula) adds. “Sometimes a show could be huge and there just isn't a place for it to get to see the story through.”

Ousley, Kiawentiio, and Yu joined the call with Gordon Cormier (Aang), Dallas Liu (Zuko), and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Iroh), with Daniel Dae Kim (Fire Lord Ozai) taking charge of the conversation. It wasn't long before he dropped a bomb: “I’m sorry if this was unexpected, but they are not able to announce a season 2 for our show.”

Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

The faces of the young stars — who grew up on set making season 2 — said it all. “I'm not hiding it very well,” the star behind the titular *Avatar* admits of that Zoom call, “but I feel like I was almost so shocked that I was smiling out of a coping mechanism.”

Ousley has one issue with that video in hindsight. “They zoomed in on my face and I'm tearing up. That was [from a different call] when Albert Kim, who was our season 1 showrunner, told us how proud of us he was,” the actor recalls. “When Daniel was like, ‘Season 2’s not happening,’ I was like, ‘Hmm. I don't know if I'm buying this.’”

He had good reason to be suspicious. Seconds later, Kim broke the real news: “They’re not able to announce a season 2 because they would like to announce season 2 and season 3.”

“[We] group FaceTimed within three minutes of the Zoom finishing,” Cormier recalls. “We all talked for like 45 minutes, all just expressing our joy to get back to it.”

Gordon Cormier as Aang, Miyako as Toph in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Katie Yu/Netflix

The Aang gang officially reassembled later that September, about three years after filming season 1, to shoot both 2 and 3 back-to-back over the course of a calendar year — all to see the full live-action adaptation through to the end.

A significant time jump was built into the season 2 plan to account for the cast’s real-time aging. When Jabbar Raisani, season 2 co-showrunner, first met Cormier, “He literally went up to my belly button,” he points out, “and now he's taller than me.” Returning to Netflix this June 25, the story picks up when the characters are noticeably older, though Raisani mentions, “We don’t get into how many months it is” after the events of that season 1 finale.

It’s at least clear that a lot happened during that span off screen, including Aang and Katara becoming much more adept at waterbending. Raisani and his showrunner counterpart, Christine Boylan, used that time jump to solve a time-and-resources problem. “There are so many adventures that exist in the animated series that we couldn't put in the show,” Boylan says. “A lot of it falls in between seasons, and it can happen even in between episodes.”

There’s still plenty of ground to cover, including what transpires in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Sei and the arrival of fan-favorite Toph (Miyako), the blind earthbender and a crucial member of Team Avatar.

The seat of Earth Kingdom power

Gordon Cormier as Aang in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Boylan, promoted from her season 1 position of co-executive producer, says they had two requests heading into the sophomore run: more practical sets and what she calls “Fire Nation succession.”

The impact of the first point is apparent on a gloomy day in late February 2025 on the Vancouver production. Raisani, who also served as a director and visual effects supervisor on season 1, estimates they had “10 times” more sets and locations this time around, while the Volume, an LED-lit stage used for virtual production, was scaled back.

One such set lies in the city’s Flavelle, Port Moody location, where a sprawling makeshift village depicts different boroughs of Ba Sing Se, the next target in Fire Lord Ozai’s mission for global domination. Imagery of Badgermoles and Lion Turtles adorn the nearby roofing as Easter eggs.

It’s the same location where *Shōgun*, FX’s Emmys-sweeping historical epic, previously set up shop. Boylan acknowledges, “Are we going to look like *Shōgun*?” became a recurring question, given the Asian influence and medieval time period. To ensure the answer remained no, they went back to the cartoon for inspiration.

“The rules are specifically that the Earth Kingdom is Japan and China, the Fire Nation is Southeast Asia, the Air Nomads are very much Tibet, and then the Water Tribes are First Nations,” production designer Michael Wylie mentions on a stroll through the upper and lower rings of their Ba Sing Se — distinctions established by *Avatar: The Last Airbender* creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

This cultural fusion — visible through the various food markets, bazaars, and tea shops along the main streets — is reflective of the writers’ launching pad for the season arc, which the showrunners describe as “the immigrant experience.” It came straight from the source material, while the writers’ room also pulled from personal experiences and historical research.

Amanda Zhou as Joo Dee, James Sie as Cabbage Man in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Katie Yu/Netflix

As civilians of the surrounding areas become displaced by the Fire Nation, more and more refugees, including Zuko and Iroh, who’ve been living off the grid, make their way to the capital. However, upon arrival, a propaganda machine is in full effect to persuade the Earth King’s subjects that “there is no war in Ba Sing Se” (to quote a familiar phrase from the animated original).

“Underground” (i.e. the indoor stages at the neighboring CMPP Studios in Vancouver) lies a sprawling network of gravelly tunnels illuminated by glowing gems embedded in the walls. These are the Crystal Caves, where Joo Dee (Amanda Zhou), Ba Sing Se’s Cultural Ambassador, is undergoing a reprogramming of sorts. On set, Boylan makes references to *Get Out* and HBO’s *The Sympathizer*.

“This is a show about life during war time,” Boylan says. “This is a show about these kids bonding. This is a show about these kids trying to come of age in this world and remake the world in a better way.”

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Cormier calls himself "the Half Avatar" at this point, a reference to how Aang now has two elements under his belt but still needs to master earth and fire. “We have this banger first episode where everything comes together and we reintroduce everybody," he says.

Viewers have already seen glimpses of the premiere, which involves Aang and Katara subduing a sea serpent while guiding refugees across a treacherous path. Cormier filmed the sequence atop a surfboard rig in front of blue screen to emulate the Avatar skating across the water’s surface.

“It was on a wire so it would sway, but we’re also trying to move our bodies in the sense that we’re waterbending,” he recalls. “That was quite difficult. Not for Kiawentiio, though. She got it within the span of like 40 minutes of rehearsing.”

Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley for 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Lenne Chai/Netflix

As Katara mentors Aang in waterbending, Kiawentiio did the same for Cormier, who says his costar was “incredible coaching me in between takes.”

Katara is a formidable bender and healer at this stage of the story, and Kiawentiio was eager to adapt a particular arc from the cartoon: the Painted Lady. Katara dresses as this figure from folklore to help immigrants going through tough times.

“I felt so beautiful as the Painted Lady,” she says. “And, sure, the makeup took longer than I had ever been in this chair beforehand, but it was totally worth it. The girls ate it up. I want to shout them out because of how much detail is in the makeup.”

The Painted Lady arc doesn’t come into play until the third season of the animated original, but according to Kiawentiio, the writers tried various ways to adapt this plot point before realizing “it’s not going to be able to fit anywhere else” in their grand plan.

Following the tone of season 2, similar animation-to-live-action remixes are in store again, including with Sokka. “There’s so much weight that gets shifted around,” Ousley acknowledges. “The original animated show is amazing and also very emotionally deep, but it also touches on a lot of very mature topics that translate differently.”

For him, it was important to make sure Sokka wasn’t moving on too quickly from the loss of Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder), his love interest whose spirit returned to the moon in the season 1 finale’s Water Tribe battle. “That was just trying to make sure it didn’t look like he was a playboy, to be honest,” Ousley continues. “When you find him here in season 2, he has gone through something very traumatic where he’s still feeling a lot of responsibility.”

Toph as nails

Miyako as Toph in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Katie Yu/Netflix

Another member of Team Aang enters the fold in season 2. On set, it’s easy to point out her home in Ba Sing Se. Just look for the Beifong family crest: a winged boar.

Toph Beifong is the daughter of an affluent family in the Earth Kingdom city. She’s blind, so her parents treat her like a delicate child, when in reality she’s one of the most proficient earthbenders in the world. In between takes, Ryan Halprin, another EP, plays footage on his laptop of “Toph vision” — what it looks like when the girl uses her bending to see by tapping into the vibrations of the earth.

Batman’s SONAR surveillance system in Christopher Nolan’s *The Dark Knight* became an inspiration for the visuals. “I really started with Miyako,” Raisani says of developing that element. “It is about how she moves and how she functions as an earthbender.”

The team auditioned a wide swath of performers for the role, including blind, visually impaired, and low-vision actors. According to Boylan, a challenge emerged because “Toph *can* see, just not in the traditional sense.”

Miyako was someone who auditioned “for a couple parts” on season 1, the actress says, but she surmises she was too young at the age of 13 for any of them. The casting director kept her self-tape on file and, five years later, the Toph role came around. “That was a blessing in disguise,” Miyako says.

Gordon Cormier and Miyako for 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Lenne Chai/Netflix

“She is the blunt truth teller of the group,” Boylan describes the new addition. “She has no shame about pretty much anything, which is the best kind of person to have along with you. She's also a tank.”

Blindness consultant Joe Strechay and his assistant trained with Miyako for six months prior to filming, in addition to attending every stunt rehearsal. The actress wore various contact lenses, some of which restricted her vision, to enhance the look. “My biggest concern was actually portraying a character who's blind or has low vision because I am not and I will never know what that's like,” Miyako says, while acknowledging Strechay’s team “took a lot of pressure off.”

A self-professed “hardcore fan” of the Nickelodeon series with her older brother, the actress describes her first day on set: filming the character's introduction. Aang and friends first witness her in action as “the Blind Bandit,” a participant in the underground “Earth Rumble” fighting tournament facing down the Boulder, a beefy sumo wrestler-type earthbender.

“I felt very nervous,” she remembers of that day. “It was not only Toph’s entrance, but it was mine. I needed to show what I was made of. I needed to show what I was gonna do for the rest of the season, and this sets the tone.”

Heated sibling rivalry

Elizabeth Yu and Dallas Liu for 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Lenne Chai/Netflix

Inside the Crystal Caves stage in summer 2025, the team prepares a different kind of fight scene, one between Zuko and Azula. Liu, with his prior martial arts training, performs a backflip on command to dodge oncoming fire blasts (to be inserted in post). He lands with ease and performs a bending move with his arms, indicating the dispersing of his sister’s blue flames.

Yu, too, appears confident in her element. This time around, she arrives to set with sharp, extended fingernails to emulate that character feature in the animated show. The actress, also known for Todd Haynes' film *May December*, later comments on that subtle addition in a May 2026 interview.

“I went to Rebecca, who was the head of the makeup department,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Can we try it?! What do you think?’ Because it's so iconic from the animation. They're very claw-like. She was like, ‘If you're down with wearing long nails for a year straight, then yes, we can do it.’”

Discussing their Crystal Caves clash, Liu remembers how “the nail punctured a hole in my hand at one point.”

“I felt terrible,” Yu responds, “but I felt like Azula did her job…. They were a real-life weapon, almost.”

Dallas Liu and Gordon Cormier on set of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Katie Yu/Netflix

The sibling rivalry remains heated throughout season 2 as that idea of “Fire Nation succession” lingers in the characters’ minds. Zuko remains in exile but always with the promise of redemption should he capture the Avatar, while Azula is determined to prove herself as the rightful heir.

It's all about “trying to become dad's favorite" and "trying to play the game in order to try to succeed,” Yu says.

“I love royalty stories, I love sibling rivalries,” Boylan adds. “I am a reader of history, and pulling from different battles and different monarchies and all of those unstable world events was super interesting to inform the Fire Nation side of things.”

To enhance this sibling dynamic, the writers’ gave Zuko and Azula’s mom, who features in a much smaller storyline in the original, an expanded presence in the live-action drama. Lily Gao (*Twisted Metal*) portrays Ursa, whose memory plagues both of her children in their teenage years.

“The reason they can be so feisty with each other and so hurtful towards each other is because they are family, because they experienced trauma on such a deep level,” Liu explains. “It was only the two of them that know truly what happened. It really adds another layer to this sibling dynamic. It's not just a rivalry. It is an older brother and a younger sister trying to figure out who they are and how to handle healing from this [in] two very, very drastically different ways.”

Liu adds, "Two different ways, two different colors of fire."

Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, and Ian Ousley on set of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' season 2.

Katie Yu/Netflix

It's a long road ahead for these children of the Fire Nation, and the actors already shot more standout moments coming for the final season. Those include the “Agni Kai” firebender duel, which Liu enthusiastically calls “the coolest thing I've ever done in my life."

Another is the final face-off against Ozai. While on set, an executive producer mentions how they had to preemptively save a chunk of their budget on season 2 “knowing we’re going to need to go all-out.”

"It was huge," Cormier remarks. "Everything about it was big. I don't think we've ever shot a fight sequence as long as that one took. It was probably over the span of two weeks, and I think we went back to it quite a bit...Lots of wires, lots of insane stunts."

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The ending of the live-action *Avatar: The Last Airbender* is on everyone's minds even while filming season 2 last year. Boylan carries around a giant white binder labeled “season 3” while filming the Crystal Caves episodes. At one point, her assistant runs over to pull her away from the shoot, saying, “Season 3 Netflix meeting in 15 minutes.” Gabe Llanas, a co-executive producer, mentions in between takes, “We’re rewriting season 3 while working on season 2."

Liu and Yu remain deeply grateful and visibly enthused to be able to tell the entirety of the main *Avatar* story, even if the double-renewal first came with a fake-out.

“While we thought season 1 was good, we knew that we could do better,” Liu says. “Because so much time had passed, we were really ready to prove ourselves as actors. As young indigenous actors, we really wanted to show the world [that] this is an opportunity that has been presented to us that we're not gonna take for granted."

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