Rumors about a fabled fourth season of Avatar: The Last Airbender have gained traction and number with the release of M. Night Shyamalan‘s movie, with willful disregard for the actual cinematic worth of the film. Nickelodeon confirmed them all today, with a press statement announcing the production of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, which will pick up the Avatar plot seventy years later, with the Avatar who comes after Aang, a Southern Water Tribe girl (Korra) who has already mastered Water, Earth and Fire.

Her quest leads her to the epicenter of the modern “Avatar” world, Republic City – a metropolis that is fueled by steampunk technology. It is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive. However, Korra discovers that Republic City is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip it apart. Under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.

*ahem*

Squeeeeeee.

So…

Steampunk, the inevitable setting that was hinted at with Fire Nation ships and can only have accelerated once firebenders and waterbenders actually started working together.

70 years later, long enough that all of our favorite characters from the show are probably still around (especially considering the lifespans of some of the show’s characters) to feel weird about teaching the reincarnated form of their good friend, but are old enough to parallel the strong, wise, bad ass old people in the new show. Grand-ma Toph, anyone? All I’m saying is: get Margaret Cho to do her voice.

to do her voice. Air training offers an excellent segue to finding the Air Nation.

Details on Korra‘s production schedule and release are expected to be announced this week, at San Diego Comic Con. We wait in humble anticipation.

Superhero Hype has the full press release.

Related: The three biggest unanswered questions in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

(via Topless Robot.)

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