M. Night Shyamalan has a massive plan in mind for "The Last Airbender" -- a patient film trilogy that presents a fantasy epic and also grows progressively darker as its young characters (and actors) mature in front of moviegoers.

That brings to mind both "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the "Harry Potter" franchise, and, as you might imagine, that has stirred excitement among executives at Paramount Pictures who would love to have a magical franchise that pulls in billions of dollars at the box office. But because the stakes are so high, there has also been considerable behind-the-scenes hand-wringing because of a nasty fan backlash on a touchy subject -- race and casting.

Check the venting and venom we heard in more than 100 comments that followed an "Airbender" post in January. Here's how one reader summed it up: "I am one of the many who is seriously disappointed that characters who are non-white have been cast with white actors. Only the villain is allowed to be played by a person of color. I expected better of Mr. Shyamalan."

Shyamalan has responded to the threat of revolt. In a breakfast meeting with a circle of journalists and bloggers, the director said he has always cast his films with an open spirit, and that anime, such as the source material for "Airbender," is about blurring the race boundaries of the real world and embracing something more uplifting.

Here, for instance, is how he was quoted by Meredith Woerner at io9.com in a lengthy post that goes deep into topic of the planned mythology and clearly reveals the filmmaker's passion for the property:

"Here's the thing. The great thing about anime is that it's ambiguous. The features of the characters are an intentional mix of all features. It's intended to be ambiguous. That is completely its point. So when we watch Katara, my oldest daughter is literally a photo double of Katara in the cartoon. So that means that Katara is Indian, correct? No, that's just in our house. And her friends who watch it, they see themselves in it. And that's what's so beautiful about anime."

He also says:

When I was doing "Sixth Sense," if you literally read the script he [Cole Sear] has dark hair, black eyes. I always pictured the kid from "Searching For Bobby Fisher" as the lead for "Sixth Sense." And I said, "We are not hiring any blond L.A. kids, OK? Don't even bring them in." Then Haley [Joel Osment] came in and I said, "You've got the part." How can you not have him play this part?

That's always been my lean. I have hopes of what I want them to be, my hope was that the movie would be incredibly diverse. That when we look back on all three movies, that it is one of the most diverse movies of all times. And that is the case when you watch the movies. And it's not an agenda, like when you see a picture of a kid's school and they have everybody on the swings. It's not like that.

There's a lot more in Woerner's piece, and "Airbender" fans (whether they be optimistic or angry at this point) should check it out. Again, you can find it here.

We'll have a lot more on this film (and, I suspect, this topic) 

-- Geoff Boucher

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Upper photo: M. Night Shyamalan. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Lower photo: A scene from "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Credit: Nickelodeon
 

So, according to a poll on MovieTickets.com, which admittedly only talked to about 550 people, the most memorable trailer during Sunday's Super Bowl was "Alice in Wonderland" -- remembered by 81% of the people who watched. That was followed by "Robin Hood" at 67% and "Shutter Island" at 63%. The first trailer shown, "The Last Airbender," was memorable mostly because, while I watched it, I forgot about the casting hate that's been heaped on director M. Night Shyamalan.

For those of us who like fun, action-filled romps (like "Ninja Assassin") that might not have the most cerebral story lines or "tight" filmmaking, this looks great. Who knows about the acting or story lines yet for "Airbender," but for sheer eye candy, it (to me) rivaled the rest. Here's the half-minute spot that ran.

-- Jevon Phillips

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Rachel Abramowitz memorably wrote about M. Night Shyamalan in 2008 when he revealed quite a lot about the liberating power of, well, failure. Now she spoke with him again for this Hero Complex update on the filmmaker's upcoming film "The Last Airbender."

And now for that other "Avatar" movie...

For M. Night Shyamalan, it was his then 7-year old daughter who hooked him on the Nickelodeon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

“She made us watch as a family and all four of us were hooked, “ Shyamalan said. “I was like, 'This would make a killer movie.  And my wife who really has been kind of in neutral about my career was insane about it. Insane about it: ‘You have to do it. This is it. This is the one.' ”

Ever since he shot to stardom with his film “The Sixth Sense” in 1999, Hollywood has tempted Shyamalan with franchise offers including, he says, an overture about directing the first “Harry Potter” film. He turned down all the other offers, but “Airbender,” with its fusion of Eastern philosophies and martial arts grabbed him. The series is set in a world where the four ancient elements -- fire, earth, water and air -- can be manipulated by a select group of magical humans who are known as "benders."

The brutal firebenders, known as the Fire Nation, are intent on world domination and the only thing standing in their way is 12-year old Aang, the last of the airbenders, who also happens to be the Avatar -- the only one who can wield all four of the elemental groups.

Not unlike a pre-teen, martial-arts version of the Dalai Lama, the fun-loving Aang is charged with keeping peace in the universe. Now comes Shyamalan’s big-screen adaptation “The Last Airbender” (no surprise, the film will drop "Avatar" from the title because of the success of a certain recent film with a smiliar title), the first of a planned trilogy.   

The movie hits theaters on July 2 and stars Noah Ringer as Aang, Dev Patel (of “Slumdog Millionaire") as the evil Prince Zuko. Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rathbone portray Aang’s trusty comrades-in-arms.

The 39-year old Shyamalan, once the boy wonder of Hollywood, is coming off a series of disappointing films, including “Lady in the Water” and “The Happening,” and this is the first time he’s directed a film based on pre-exististing source material. The filmmaker is taking on an adaptation for the first time because he found himself drawn to the Buddhist philosophy that underlies “Airbender.”

“Aang himself needs to find balance to be the Avatar and to master each of these elements," the director said. "We get to see the process of someone mastering themselves through the three seasons to get to peace.” 

Shyamalan sees similar spiritual motiffs in “Star Wars” and “The Matrix."

“In the first 'Matrix,' you realize that what you’re seeing is all false," Shyamalan said. "Those are really ancient ideas. Basic old, old religion. This has that as well. So if you go on the journey and you’ll feel that epiphany on top of a great roller-coaster ride. It’s going to be something.“

-- Rachel Abramowitz

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PHOTOS: Top, the new teaser poster for "The Last Airbender." Middle, M. Night Shyamalan in 2006 (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times). Bottom, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" television series (Nickelodeon).