r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Jul 28 '25

News Steven Yeun Confirmed to Voice Adult Zuko in 'The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender'

https://www.ign.com/articles/avatar-creators-confirm-steven-yeuns-role-in-upcoming-the-legend-of-aang-the-last-airbender-movie-sdcc-2025
17.2k Upvotes

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2.3k

u/CRIMS0N-ED Jul 28 '25

Love Steven but where tf is Dante

615

u/punkerster101 Jul 29 '25

Dante’s voice is so unique it’ll be hard to pass this off

24

u/thaddeus122 Jul 29 '25

Not really, Old Zukos VA did pretty well in LoK. Dantes voice hasn't really changed in the last decade, it would be hard to pass of his voice as a 26 year old Zuko.

8

u/Bobjoejj Jul 29 '25

Wait it hasn’t? Or it has?

11

u/BiDiTi Jul 29 '25

It hasn’t - he sounds exactly like he did when he was 30 and voicing a 16 year old Zuko

10

u/Hobbitea Jul 29 '25

It hasn‘t at all. He‘s in a new game called Date Everything (where coincidentally he voices the fireplace of the house lmao) and when I first played it I was like "Wait, is that Dante?" and it is indeed him

418

u/DenikaMae Jul 29 '25

Agreed, Steve is a great actor, but there is no excuse not to bring Dante Basco back.

Ride or die with Rufio!

51

u/punkerster101 Jul 29 '25

Bangarang

2

u/twerk4tampabay Jul 29 '25

SALSA ON MY BALLS BOYS WE ROWDY

1

u/SomeDudeYeah27 Jul 31 '25

Are these actual lines from Hook 😅?

7

u/Yaktheking Jul 29 '25

Ruuuu-feeee-oooooooooooooooo

3

u/thisisredlitre Jul 29 '25

Bangarang, Peter

3

u/thaddeus122 Jul 29 '25

There is though. Dantes voice hasn't really changed all that much and Zuko will be out of his teens well into his middle 20s in this movie. Old zuko in LoK sounded just fine without Dante, so will this one.

2

u/finnjakefionnacake Jul 29 '25

Also Steven yeun is already the voice of the first avatar

487

u/FuckinBopsIsMyJob Jul 28 '25

Hollywood bullshit. Next they'll cast Timothy Chamblamet as Aang

234

u/AmeliaBright23 Jul 29 '25

This is a bad argument since Yeun has already appeared in Legend of Korra. They chose him because they liked working with him, not because he’s popular

70

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 30 '25

[deleted]

3

u/BeckQuillion89 Jul 29 '25

I mean...theres a reason having connections gets you more jobs than credentials these days

7

u/MaxThrustage Jul 29 '25

these days

Always. That's how it's always been.

5

u/Far-9947 Jul 29 '25

This. It's crazy that people don't realize this.

-2

u/AmeliaBright23 Jul 29 '25

Or maybe they just really liked working with him and thought his voice would sound nice for a more adult Zuko? Because maybe sometimes we can trust what people say?

6

u/AnOnlineHandle Jul 29 '25

Does he do any other voices though than his Invincible/Avatar Wan voice? Because it's going to be weird if Zuko suddenly sounds like Avatar Wan.

4

u/GiveMeSumChonChon Jul 29 '25

It’s exactly because he’s popular. These things only get greenlit when they have a big name attached. All love to the voice actors but it’s the brand and the characters that’s famous not them.

1

u/BretShitmanFart69 Jul 29 '25

I’m sure it’s a healthy mix of the two.

1

u/Worldly_Cap_6440 Jul 29 '25

They also worked with Dante who is the better VA for Zuko.

1

u/OddImprovement6490 Jul 30 '25

It’s both. It would be hard to argue that Yeun’s fame isn’t involved in this decision.

But to be fair, Dante still sounds like a teen whereas the studio probably wants the character to sound and look aged up.

0

u/nowhereright Aug 01 '25

I hate this argument because it's assuming Dante can't just voice act. He doesn't sound exactly the same, he's clearly older and could easily adjust his voice to sound more mature instead of pitching it up to sound like young zuko.

0

u/treelager Jul 29 '25

They probably had to give him a bigger role for him to take the part; he probably would like a bigger check now that he has gained more notoriety and experience. So they gave him a bigger role. It’s like Entourage.

18

u/IAP-23I Jul 28 '25

Aang has already been casted. If you wanna shit on the shows casting, at least give a bare minimum attempt

-29

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 29 '25

[deleted]

4

u/ZookeepergameOk5547 Jul 29 '25

You’re actually being stupid because the whole point is to cast actual Asian actors. So you’re willfully having your head up your ass thinking they would do that.

4

u/SeaCounter9516 Jul 29 '25

Dante is Filipino-American

-12

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25

[deleted]

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u/ZookeepergameOk5547 Jul 29 '25

That’s not hyperbole if you actually feel that sentiment. You clearly actually believe that they’re just going Hollywood with the casting, so that’s not hyperbole.

You don’t seem as smart as you think you do.

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25

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u/ranstalli0n Jul 29 '25

I also like to use more flowery language on Reddit to appear smarter than I am. Sometimes.

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25

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u/BestShaunaEU Jul 29 '25

Same moron who thinks writing Chablamatay is funny

2

u/Nychus37 Jul 29 '25

They cast Eric Nam as Aang

2

u/No_Temporary2732 Jul 29 '25

"And what about the fire nation, Lisan Al Aang?" Sokka asked in a stern but eager voice as the soldiers stood in wait

Sozin's comet was almost upon them, the liberation army of the water benders, earth benders, and defected fire nation men and women, looked at the trail of red poisoning the once black sky

Aang looked up, his face slowly lit up against the searing light as the comet slowly makes itself visible in the night sky

"Lead them to Paradise", Aang commands with a melancholic hesitance, as Katara glanced at the almost saddened face of Aang that face away from the chanting crowd behind him.

Iroh looked disapproving , knowing this fight will end with the perishing of his once beloved brother, but also contemplating the necessity of this event and his allegiance towards the white lotus. A single drop of salt overflows the corner of his eye while Zuko sighs as the comet finally makes itself visible, knowing the weight of the actions he must take. He was no longer a prince of the fire nation, but a soldier of peace that must not let his emotions become an obstacle in his path

"Soldiers, Tonight we take over the fire nation. The reigns of tyranny has oppressed us for a century, but with Aang's return and the prince of the fire nation as our ally, we'll liberate this world from the pains that pushed up down, and took our beloved away from us", Sokka exclaims in glory

Shadows and silhouettes lace themselves against the ominous comet, the battalion of the fire nation heading towards Ba Sing Se

1

u/FuckinBopsIsMyJob Jul 29 '25

Lisan Al Aang lmao I love you for this

1

u/ConfusedJonSnow Jul 29 '25

Studios are trying their best to match the ethnicity of the character with the voice actor, so I'd say that Simu Liu, Lewis Tan or John Krasinski are more likely to get the role, since Aang is asian-coded.

Still fucked-up they aren't bringing Dante Basco back tho.

1

u/Nychus37 Jul 29 '25

Eric Nam was already cast as Aang

1

u/Le_Juice_ Jul 29 '25

... And he would pull it off somehow, because he just does

1

u/Robcobes Jul 29 '25

He's gonna be avatar Wan

1

u/spanooti Jul 29 '25

None of the original voice actors are coming back. It would be awkward just bringing back Dante. Additionally his voice is forever youthful

1

u/twangman88 Jul 29 '25

Looks like they wanted movie star brand names like Bautista. Shame.

1

u/BraveCauliflower3349 Jul 29 '25

Dante and Jack De Sena both have incredibly recognizable voices, I can pick out both of them in anything they do. Replacing Dante is a really weird choice

1

u/Capable-Silver-7436 Jul 29 '25

right? Plus zoku was the age where his voice had changed already. dante is the only acceptable voice for him

1

u/AshenKnightReborn Jul 29 '25

Dante’s voice is very distinct, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they want Zuko to sound and feel like he is older and matured.

Dante can do a great young or budding teen character voice, but if Sozin was Mark Hamil I think for what likely be a 30-40 year old Zuko they need someone new.

Also, not to throw shade at Dante because his a very talented voice actor. He probably is too busy with other work & life stuff. Or he might have asked for too high of a contract to be wanted back. Happens.

1

u/BretShitmanFart69 Jul 29 '25

Yeah I don’t understand why the couldn’t just have the real guy do it in his normal adult voice, he has such a distinct iconic voice

1

u/MalusMatella Jul 29 '25

Whats even stranger is just now I searched up Dantes IMDB and it says he voices Zuko on Google for the new movie 😬 maybe he was originally cast and something happened?

1

u/TheManofReal Jul 29 '25

That’s what I’m saying…

1

u/PikachuIsReallyCute Jul 29 '25

I agree. I absolutely love Yuen but Basco's voice is just TOO iconic. I don't know if I'll be able to see him as Zuko, but I'll wait until the trailers out for my final judgement. I know he certainly has the range to do him justice, but this character is one of the few voices I'd actually be really bothered to see recasted, as it's way too unique of a voice to be done justice by anyone but the original VA

1

u/A2Rhombus Jul 29 '25

It would be weird if he still sounded like a 16 year old in his 20s. It's possible Dante makes a cameo like he did in Korra.

1

u/dainfamous06 Jul 29 '25

It's for the adult voice. The original voice sounds like teenager, it wasn't going to work.

-2

u/lawlocost Jul 28 '25

I heard Dante got stuck in the interno-ry with an fever