Avatar season 2: it’s still the same actor who plays Aang… and he’s grown up a lot

He was 12 when he started playing in season 1. He is 16 now. Gordon Cormier has changed so much that the Netflix series decided to incorporate his spectacular growth spurt directly into the storyline.

Even the Last Airbender can do nothing against the passage of time…

When fans launched season 2 of Avatar on Netflix, many must have asked the same question: is it really the same actor who plays Aang?

The answer is yes. It’s still Gordon Cormier, but the young actor has simply… grown up. Grown a lot.

In the first episode, the change is even commented on directly on screen. Upon finding Aang, Suki says to him: “You’ve grown like a bamboo shoot!” A line that echoes the actor’s real growth spurt since the end of filming for season 1. Interviewed by TVLine, showrunner Christine Boylan explains that the team never tried to hide this natural evolution:

“For me, Gordon is still our baby. But we try to play everything very human and realistic. Suki hasn’t seen Aang since Kyoshi Island, so from her point of view he’s really grown up. It allows us to say out loud what the audience is probably thinking.”

Same observation from co-showrunner Jabbar Raisani:

“It was funny. Even during the recording of the additional dialogue for season 1, Gordon’s voice had already changed. I said to him: ‘My friend, your voice has changed!’ We knew it was going to happen. We’re not trying to hide it. We work with real human beings, so we might as well embrace it.”

Now 16, Gordon Cormier was just 12 when cameras started rolling on the first season. The actor himself admits that finding Aang for this season 2 was a very different experience.

“There was so much time between the two seasons that Aang almost became a different person. He went through puberty. It’s crazy!” he tells TVLine. According to him, this development also serves the character: “Aang is a little older and a little stronger. We simply integrated that into the new momentum of the next seasons.”

And this premature aging ultimately came at the right time for the creators. Adapting Book 2 of the original Nickelodeon cartoon, this second season is significantly darker than the first.

“The issues the characters face become more complicated and complex. The fact that Gordon is older helps us approach these themes in a more honest and believable way,” concludes Jabbar Raisani. “In the end, we got lucky.”

Avatar: The Last Airbender, season 2, now on Netflix