I thought nothing could survive in the wake of the utter trainwreck that was The Last Airbender Movie (we’ll always have Lady in the Water Mr. Shyamalan, we’ll always, at least, have that), the good people at Nickelodeon are set to release a new tale set in our favorite world of Pan-Asian Mysticism, Steampunk and Element-Bending. Billed as the next generation in the tale, The Legend of Korra tells the story of a new Avatar heroine, who the press release describes as “a 17-year-old headstrong and rebellious girl who continually challenges and bucks tradition on her quest to become a fully realized Avatar in a world where benders are under attack.” The show will premiere April 14th on Nickelodeon at 11:00 a.m. EST. Get to DVR bending…

Update 05/19/2012: Finally got to watch the first episode on my DVR. Pretty good storyline so far. An interesting generational leap in the show, from what before appeared to be steampunk to a more dieselpunk society–complete with automobiles! Korra is an engaging heroine who is easy to take a liking to. Seeing the children and grandchildren of the original series was nice, as was the addition of new forms of bending (ironbending!). One thing that made me frown and was quite noticeable. This society is decidedly… less Pan-Asian in peopling… than the original. Given the heavy reaction to the “racebending” in the cinematic production, I was surprised by the amount of definitively Euro-looking characters now in the animated cast, thought the society appears to be still heavily Asian influenced in terms of culture.That’s fine, I guess. I personally had no problems with a fictional world set in a predominantly non-Euro society; given the relative imbalance, it’s perfectly understandable and I’d even say necessary. But I can also understand a more multicultural world as we move into what seems to be an urbanized and more globalized future; in a way, that’s progressive. Or at least it will be progressive, as long as an influx in Euro-looking characters aren’t the *only* type of diversity in the show. I’ll be keeping my eye out for those Afro-looking benders…who I’m sure will be coming along…any day now…