Looking back on Avatars and ahead to Dragons: A korranews interview with Aaron Ehasz, head writer of Avatar: The Last Airbender and co-creator of The Dragon Prince!

Avatar: The Last Airbender is the progenitor of a vast swathe of today’s animation landscape. Its large, immensely talented crew has gone on to bring us shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars (and Rebels, and Resistance), The Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and, most recently: The Dragon Prince, a new original fantasy series on Netflix co-created by Aaron Ehasz, the head writer of ATLA.

While the other franchises were full steam ahead, he laid low in the decade between Sozin’s Comet and Echoes of Thunder (the first episode of TDP), taking on the role of creative director at Riot Games, the home of League of Legends. But something bigger was brewing…

Last year he founded a new multimedia company, Wonderstorm, and this year they brought us The Dragon Prince.



Very excitingly, today I can bring you an interview I did with none other than Aaron Ehasz!

We discussed the path from ATLA to TDP, TLOK’s place in between them, and more! These questions give us just a bit more insight into his new show, which is still pretty tantalizingly shrouded in secrecy, as well as delving into some major lingering ones we have about Avatar…

[Edited for format and flow. Warning for some TDP spoilers!]

korranews: Avatar was formative for me and a whole generation of scifi & fantasy lovers. You’re a storytelling icon for a lot of people. When you were a kid, what stories did you most love and look up to?

Aaron Ehasz: One question, three answers!

1) Robotech was a big influence because it had such a scale, and the characters evolved over long story arcs. I was also influenced by the world building – for example, the explanation for robotechnology (the ability for these vehicles etc. to transform into giant robots) was that it had been developed to combat an alien race of giants. This resonated and felt so awesome.

2) I also read a lot of mythology growing up, Greek, Norse, and other world mythologies always fascinated me.

3) Finally, I have always loved Caldecott medal and Caldecott honor children’s books – I think the fact that something aimed at a younger audience can have heart and meaning and be delightful at the same time really affected me!



kn: What’s your favorite Greek myth?

AE: There are so many intriguing myths to choose from – I think if I have to choose I would say the Prometheus myth. The titan stole fire and gave it to humans, elevating them – and was punished by the gods for this. I feel like there are parallels to the biblical story of the serpent tempting Eve to eat the apple, and its effect on humanity… and the comparisons are sort of fascinating.

I am interested in both the mythic/divine messenger who stole/shared these gifts with humanity, and the story of what humans chose to do once they had these gifts.

kn: Such a cool answer. I’ve never made that connection before! Prometheus and the gift of fire lends itself really well to the Avatar universe’s own version of this story; in The Legend of Korra we see the origins of bending and the Avatar in the Beginnings two-parter of Book Two: Spirits, where lion turtles bestow the gift of the elements to humans, and the whole epic saga of the Avatars that explodes out of that. Given what you said about mythical beings sharing these gifts with humanity and then what humans choose to do with them, how much of that, and the whole Raava-Vaatu backstory, was really thought out back in the ATLA days? I know Mike and Bryan have said they wanted to include it in the original show– what form did it take back then and what was your part in how this origin story should unfold?

AE: First of all, I’m sorry to say that on most questions about Korra I am “out of my element” – haha… so I am only speculating, but I know Mike and Bryan pay attention to myth and mythic archetype, so it’s certainly possible they were influenced by those myths.



→ The Avatar universe’s own Prometheus myth.

kn: It’s been just over ten years since Avatar: The Last Airbender ended. How long have you wanted to start your own new franchise and how long have you had The Dragon Prince in your head?



AE: I’ve gone on my own journey of self-discovery and some re-invention over the past ten years! And in the end I came back to a place where I started: how can I work with amazing people to create something we will all be proud of, that will hopefully mean something to an audience? That’s why I co-founded Wonderstorm with Justin Santistevan and (Dragon Prince co-creator) Justin Richmond. The Dragon Prince was something I had started thinking about a few years ago, but it only really came to life once we started Wonderstorm as a PLACE where our creative dreams could come together in the right way. Because in the end it’s not about realizing a singular vision, it’s about building a visionary team around something that can bring it to life in an amazing way.



kn: Who is your favorite character in TDP and why?



AE: I love King Harrow so much. He’s the King, but he cares so much about being a great Dad. He wants to do the right thing, he is a very principled person, and a good person – but he has made mistakes, big ones. He has quite a bit of wisdom, but he is growing and learning every day.

In a lot of ways, he taps into a similar character-source as I was thinking about with Uncle Iroh! (BTW for both of those characters I drew on aspects of my own step father, who passed away a few years ago.)



kn: By the end of Season 1, King Harrow has been proclaimed dead by Lord Viren. But like you, he’s a lot of people’s favorite so there are rumors abound that there’s more than meets the eye to his true current status. Have you seen the fan theories, and without saying too much, has anyone guessed correctly?



AE: I have seen some great theories. I have seen correct theories, and wrong theories – and I’ve enjoyed both! FWIW, there are some intriguing stories about Harrow that take place in the past that we would love to explore.



→ Lord Viren and King Harrow, a decidedly un-dynamic duo.

kn: What is the biggest similarity between ATLA and TDP? The biggest difference?



AE: I’m sure there are a lot of similarities in how I write TDP! There is definitely a certain tone-balance I love, and characters with humor and real heart. I want to build a world with a core of optimism and resilience, and part of that is having characters face genuine challenges, insecurities, flaws, etc.

In terms of the biggest difference, what comes to mind is that there is a less clear pure bad guy from the start. The sides are a bit more complicated and gray maybe? Though I know that complexity and grayness was a trait of ATLA as well, so who knows.



→ The Moonshadow Elves present a complex point of view.

kn: I have to ask… if you weren’t aware, there are some pretty wild online conspiracy theories about you, most often claiming you wanted ATLA to have a fourth season in which a certain two characters get together romantically. Many an internet war has been fought over this, so is it at all possible for you to confirm or deny these unsourced rumors once and for all, straight from the ostrich horse’s mouth?



AE: You know, sadly I have seen some rumors and even some fake interviews that claimed to speak with me. Regarding “Zutara” theories, I have to say that I don’t tend to “ship” characters, because that could lead to biases and contrivances in the writing. I try very hard to listen to the characters and what they tell me, and let them determine their own fates with that stuff.

If it makes any sense, it is less a decision than a journey of discovery with the characters leading the way.

I will tell you that in Dragon Prince I had some initial instincts about some of the characters from a shipping perspective that over time are already starting to surprise me… but more on that later!



→ The characters guided the writers to their journey’s destination.

kn: As far as we know, you had zero involvement in The Legend of Korra. Is this completely true, and if so, why? Did you have ideas for the next Avatar after Aang? What did you think of TLOK?



AE: Watching Korra was a joy for me! It was delightful to see stories in the Avatar universe that I hadn’t worked on at all, you know? I think Mike and Bryan and the team were really peaking at their craft in terms of visual storytelling, and I was blown away by that. The show was daring and beautiful.



A huge thank you to Aaron for doing this interview and for being so accessible to fans like you and me! You can follow him on twitter @aaronehasz.

The Dragon Prince Season 1 (familiarly titled Book 1: Moon on screen) is now streaming on Netflix.

“Looking back on Avatars and ahead to Dragons” is the first part in a series of korranews interviews with Avatar cast & crew members.