Avatar co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have commented on the high-profile leak of animated movie Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender ahead of its launch on Paramount+.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender leaked to X / Twitter in April, months before its scheduled release on Paramount+. The account that first leaked the movie said someone at Paramount-owned Nickelodeon "accidentally" emailed them the full film. However, according to Variety, “the initial investigation determined that the vulnerability had nothing to do with Paramount’s systems.” After the X / Twitter account posted the initial clips of the movie, the entire film leaked online from another account. A 26-year-old man was subsequently arrested in Singapore.
The leak occurred after it had emerged that Paramount had ditched plans for a theatrical release of Avatar Aang in favor of an exclusive launch on Paramount+. The much-anticipated movie was due out in theaters on October 9, 2026, but Paramount subsequently set Paramount+ as the exclusive home of Avatar Studios content.
Avatar fans who were looking forward to seeing the movie in theaters questioned the decision, which came as a surprise in the context of the huge box office success anime films enjoyed last year. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, for example, grossed an incredible $774 million at the global box office. Even now, with Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender’s July 25 release on Paramount+ confirmed, fans continue to call for a theatrical release.
Now, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, alongside director Lauren Montgomery, spoke about the impact of the leak and how they were dealing with it.
“It was a dark day when we found out that that had occurred,” DiMartino said. “We were all pretty disappointed and frustrated and all the emotions. It’s just one of those unfortunate things that occur in your careers, in your life. I’ve been through a lot of them in various ways in my life, so it’s always a setback and disappointing.”
“We were trying to be like, ‘Let’s make the best of this new situation, let’s adapt to that,’ and then it got stolen, which was just very unceremonious and abrupt and a bit rude,” Konietzko said, referencing the decision to pull Avatar Aang from theaters.
Montgomery, meanwhile, said the leak had dealt a “devastating” blow.
At the time of the leak, an animator who worked on Avatar Aang criticized those who were using Paramount’s “awful decision” to pull the movie from theaters “to justify leaking it.” Michaela Jill Murphy, the original voice of Toph Beifong in Avatar: The Last Airbender, subsequently told fans that they should avoid the leaks completely. Olivia Hack, the voice of Ty Lee in Avatar: The Last Airbender, then joined fan calls for Paramount to change its mind and release The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender in theaters.
Clearly, the trio are trying to remain positive. “At least for me, now that the film is ready to finally be out officially in the world, the excitement’s back,” DiMartino said. “And I’m excited for everybody to finally see it in their homes, wherever they’re watching, with their friends. Hopefully people can recreate some kind of community experience because the big part about Avatar is the community.”
Konietzko, meanwhile, was philosophical about the decision to pull Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender's release from theaters, insisting Paramount is backing the franchise and confirming more Avatar is in the works. “I think if we had just been kicked to the curb and felt like no one cared about us anymore, it would be harder to deal with,” Konietzko said, “but they are really excited not only for this but for Seven Havens — and for the other projects that we’re working on.”
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender sees Aang learn of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. He sets out to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace he helped establish. It stars Eric Nam as Aang, Dave Bautista as Tagah, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, Steven Yeun as Zuko, and Dionne Quan as Toph, alongside Freida Pinto, Ke Huy Quan, Taika Waititi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ronny Chieng, and Ken Jeong. Dee Bradley Baker reprises his roles as Aang’s beloved pets, Appa and Momo.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
