r/AvatarSevenHavens • u/RobertvsFlvdd • 8d ago
Question Before Seven Havens
I could've sworn before seven havens was announced, the original plan for the next avatar series was supposed be set in a futuristic/cyberpunk world. I vividly remember seeing YouTube videos about it. One of which even depicted what the main character looked like, which was a teenage boy wearing futuristic earth kingdom attire.
Yet I can't find a single trace of this on the internet.
Were there rumors of a futuristic sci-fi avatar series or am I just in some mandala effect loop or something
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u/Mx-Adrian 7d ago
that's a fan project, "The Legend of Genji."
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u/Important-Contact597 6d ago
No, that's a video that used Genji's likeness because the Youtuber didn't have anything else to base the new Avatar's appearance on.
Legend of Genji was sent in a 1960's-esque era.
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u/ArmadilloStrong9064 8d ago
I love that they didn't take this route. Cyberpunk is not the world I wanna see in avatar. And also at this point the entire idea of future that looks like cyberpunk got boring (except for tech bros who took it to heart so much they actively work on making it reality).
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u/Theory_of_Time 6d ago
The cyberpunk genre was great up until the tech bros decided to make it a reality. Can barely stand playing Cyberpunk 2077 now because it's just too damn close to real life.
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u/ARBlackshaw 8d ago
Yes, there were rumors of the new avatar series being futuristic/cyberpunk; see this video reporting on the rumours.
The Legend of Korra was set around the 1920s, and assuming Korra (who was in her early 20s) lived to be at least 100, that would put her death at around 2000. Meaning that the next Avatar would have been living in the 2010s-2020s.
So, that combined with the fact that bending would likely progress technology (e.g. imagine metal and lightning benders developing and controlling tech) lead to people speculating that the next Avatar series would be cyberpunk/futuristic.
But of course the creators decided to forgo that idea and have an apocalyptic event happen. A very clever way to work around the progressing timeline.
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u/HannahEaden 7d ago edited 7d ago
A very clever way to work around the progressing timeline.
Is it really all that clever if they just end up ignoring tough and better questions about their world?
Korra left things in a way that another story involving her or the earth avatar after her could tackle issues like democracy (very relevant issue right now) and the legitimacy of the avatar in an increasingly democratic world. Issues that could force the people in the avatar world and fans about the dangers of putting all your hope, or ceding all your agency to, a savior.
Now we're not gonna get that.
Edit: also liked to add the ingenuity of the idea can be in doubt, because Korra obviously wasn't written with the idea of an apocalypse in mind. If it's not written carefully, it'll just undermine her story.
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u/horyo 7d ago
Issues that could force the people in the avatar world and fans about the dangers of putting all your hope, or ceding all your agency to, a savior.
Now we're not gonna get that.
I don't think that's fair. You can still tell a story with similar themes about the dangers of putting hope into a savior by what happened with the cataclysm and how people feel about accepting Pavi as a savior. You had similar themes about Aang reassuming the role as the Avatar during the 100 year war. It just happens to be divorced from our reality about the role of Democracy but it isn't impossible for one of the Havens to be reclaiming the past glory and infrastructure of Republic City and decide to oust Pavi in favor of their own system.
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u/HannahEaden 7d ago
Oh, no. I think it's entirely fair.
To be clear, I don't think we would've gotten those storylines even if Mike and Bryan hadn't decided to nuke their own world. They say they want to challenge fans, but I think they're reluctant to engage with the terrible dangers inherent with relying on a savior, because while raising this question in Korra -- does the world need an avatar? -- they didn't decide to answer it. The only difference now is that I can make this critique with some amount of confidence this far out rather than after the show airs. Why? Because the premise and the number of episodes we're getting leaves no room for it. It's why you won't see the show deal with your example story. There's simply not enough time. We only have 26 episodes, and we have the mystery of what happened to Korra, what she did, why there are two avatars, and rushing to save "civilizations last strongholds" before they collapse. The mysteries are the overriding questions -- not something more political or philosophical on the dangers of a savior.
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u/Top-Ad-4512 7d ago
So basically the Avatar must be the enemy and be gone. That's it, isn't it?
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u/HannahEaden 7d ago edited 7d ago
I don't follow. Obviously in the world of the avatar, there are big threats that need to be dealt with. It's just... Korra's decision to keep the spirit portals open, for example. Setting aside whether or not that was the right thing to do, what right does she have to make that kind of decision for the world? Who gave her that right? Why should she get to make that decision?
No, obviously not every decision should be open for debate or extensive vetos -- just as not everything wrong in a democratic system would be solved by inserting more democracy -- but where is the line? Because think about it: for so long, all the way up to ASH, a major element of the world's political system depends on some random kid going through puberty. It's absurd. And the only people we ever see pointing out something close to that fact are villains.
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u/Top-Ad-4512 7d ago
If you don't see the issue as to why questioning if the world even needs an Avatar and if they are not qualified to make decisions for the benefit of the world, even when the show made it clear that humans and spirits need them, as many religions even have saviors, I think you dislike one of Avatar's main foundation here. Even Tenzin said the world will always need the Avatar in crisis, and Korra did that by making humans coexist with Spirits, because seperating them made things worse for everyone, as the humans grew to resent spirituality, until now.
What you said has also been said by Toph, and she was wrong, the world needs a savior, because they need a symbol to follow, like Iroh said to Zuko, what makes the Avatar so strong, can make him strong as well.
I believe going the route you want can cause bigger problems for the series than anything Korra did, and LOK was a mess, albeit with some benefits, like Pavi.
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u/HannahEaden 7d ago edited 6d ago
If you don't see the issue as to why questioning if the world even needs an Avatar and if they are not qualified to make decisions for the benefit of the world
Please explain to me the wisdom and logic of having a political system depend on a single child going through puberty. The whole point of Korra was to depict an avatar in a modern world. That is a modern question! I also don't think you'd like having one person born with immense power making decisions about your world, and you had no say. And even if you did, you can't say that other people wouldn't logically have issues with that.
But these are questions they're able to avoid by nuking their own world.
And that's not what Toph said. Toph said it was useless to do anything because crime will always be there. That's different than arguing the political power the avatar has shouldn't be so absolute.
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u/Ambitious-Charge7278 8d ago
More so people using theories and deduction to talk about it. No rumors that actually had something substantial. Before Avatat Studios was created they were not working on any show, besides temporarily on Netflix live action show, but no animated shows.
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u/Uncle_owen69 8d ago
I think I remember someone making some very well made artwork that people saying was real and the next avatar
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u/PabuFan 7d ago
Not youtube, but there were some movie/tv/marvel scoopers/leakers tweeting out long before Seven Havens was a thing that said it would have a cyberpunk setting. For example, MyTimeToShineHello had, in a now deleted tweet: "The next sequel show will have more of a Cyberpunk setting and will have multiple Energy Benders and flying Air Benders so expect more Dragon Ball Z level fighting". That tweet was back in 2023. They also said in another tweet: "...I've heard they're going to be a male, gay Earthbender" back in 2024. I don't know if they had a completely different concept that morphed into what is now Seven Havens, or if for the latter tweet they got confused with Jae, but there was definitely talk and rumors about the next series being cyberpunk OP.
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u/Overseer190_ 7d ago
You might’ve seen concept artwork for “Legend of Genji” which was a short lives fan project that had really strong ties with TLOK cast
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u/TriloByte_ 7d ago
That was a rumor started in 2021 by someone on Twitter called MyTimeToShineHello. They were popular for leaking information about Marvel movies that turned out to be accurate, so a lot of Avatar YouTubers covered this leak assuming it would eventually turn out to be true. Unfortunately, it would seem this was one of the times where they were wrong. Either that, or it was a very early idea that didn’t get very far.
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u/lnombredelarosa 7d ago
I figure Seven Havens is indeed going to be a cyberpunk of sorts though with a lesser emphasis on the cyber part, being ambiented around a post apocalyptic equivalent to the 90s which in the avatar verse would be bound to be more advanced than the real 90s, albeit with less general access to tech.
Say, its middle ground between the actual tech level of the 90s and the fictional one often seen in that period in cyberpunk.
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u/ProfessionalRead2724 8d ago
Cyberpunk Avatar is something they have always wanted to do. It's one of the things they wanted to do instead of AtLA and it's one of the things they wanted to do instead of Korra.
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u/Fuuriooo_ 7d ago
If I remember correctly, it was around 2023 when the series was supposed to start being written. I remember they shared some notes along with this image, which looked great. Still, I think Seven Havens might turn out to be a Fallout-type technological world.
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u/Glass-Work-1696 6d ago
Several avatar YouTube channels milked this idea, they made hundred of videos on the literal no news that the show had
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u/Important-Contact597 6d ago
It was just rumors that people latched on to without any official announcements to theorize over.
Personally, I wish we had gotten a more futuristic/cyberpunk world. That kind of technological progress is almost never explored in fantasy, and I'd have loved to see it.
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u/sojhpeonspotify 6d ago
It can still be the case. Ive heard there's going to be flying and laser beams
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u/Box_Pirate 8d ago
I saw theories like that years ago but nothing seemed official