“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked...” are the words that opened every single episode of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender series. For those of us who grew up with the show, Katara’s opening monologue is engrained in our memories. So, it was a tad shocking when Netflix’s Avatar adaptation premiered on the 2024 TV schedule, and we didn’t hear those exact words.

However, like many of the changes made in ATLA, there’s a good reason behind the opening credits being different, and showrunner Albert Kim explained the choice to CinemaBlend.