Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' welcomes Dolly De Leon, Jon Jon Briones to the cast
Filipino actors Dolly De Leon and Jon Jon Briones are joining the cast of Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
In a Facebook post, the show's official page shared a poster of seven new cast members for the upcoming Seasons 2 and 3.
According to the poster, De Leon plays Lo and Li, while Briones plays Piandao.
Lo and Li are twins who serve as the elderly advisers and mentors of Fire Princess Azula. Piandao, meanwhile, is a swordmaster of the Fire Nation and a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus.
De Leon and Piandao are joining another Filipino cast member, Lourdes Faberes, who, in November 2024, was announced to play General Sung, one of the Earth King's most trusted generals in the Earth Kingdom. Originally male in the original animated series, Sung led the team defending the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se.
The Netflix series is led by Gordon Cormier as the titular character. His mother is a Filipino hailing from Santa Rosa, Laguna.
De Leon rose to global fame for her role in the class satire Triangle of Sadness. She portrayed Abigail, a cleaning staff turned captain of the ship for the uberwealthy. Her breakout performance earned her over 15 international nods, including the 80th Golden Globe Awards, the 48th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, and the Satellite Awards 2022.
Her latest role was in the second season of the Nicole Kidman-led Nine Perfect Strangers, her first Hollywood series. She also starred with Kidman in the series Expats.
Briones, who acquired American citizenship in 2010, is known for his work in musicals, including in the West End revival of Miss Saigon in 2014. He appeared in shows like The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Ratched, and Star Trek: Picard.
Other incoming Avatar cast members include Madison Hu as Fei, Dichen Lachman as Yangchen, Lily Gao as Ursa, Terry Chen as Jeong Jeong, and Tantoo Cardinal as Hama. They're joining the previously announced Season 2 stars Faberes, Miya Cech, Chin Han, Hoa Xuande, Justin Chien, Amanda Zhou, Crystal Yu, Kelemete Misipeka, and Rekha Sharma.
Avatar's main cast includes Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Elizabeth Yu, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Daniel Dae Kim, Momona Tamada, and Thalia Tran.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a reimagining of Nickelodeon's popular animated series of the same name, which ran from 2005 to 2008. It follows the story of the four nations of the world that once "lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world."
The Netflix series premiered in February 2024 and was renewed for a final two seasons, matching the Nickelodeon series' three-season arc.
On its website, Netflix said production for Season 2 has officially finished and started on Season 3. Other details about the upcoming installment are still under wraps.
