From Naru to Yue! Following Amber Midthunder’s breakout success in this year’s Predator prequel Prey, her next move is to the fantasy epic Avatar: The Last Airbender. Netflix is reviving and remixing the anime-influenced franchise as an eight-episode live-action series under the stewardship of Dan Lin – and though the last live-action Airbender attempt didn’t go terribly well for its director M. Night Shyamalan, Midthunder’s enthusiasm for the new version is undimmed.
“I’m geeking out!” she tells Empire, in our Review Of The Year issue. “I loved Avatar as a kid. I rewatched it recently and I love that character [the Northern Water Tribe’s Princess Yue]. I’m very excited.”
Even as she looks ahead to new projects on the horizon, Midthunder is still reeling from the overwhelmingly positive response to Prey – particularly from the people of the Comanche Nation, represented in Prey not just in terms of their culture and people, but also in an alternate version of the film dubbed in the Comanche language, which is available to watch on Disney+.
“We did a pre-screening, before the movie was even done, in Oklahoma for them,” Midthunder recalls, “and I hid in the back of the theatre. Watching it in that environment was so moving. It’s been such an emotional experience being with my own people, or other native people, and getting to see what this means to the people that it represents. To be received as well as we’ve been received by so many different types of people [including] indigenous communities… I feel very satisfied, to say the least.” We have a feeling this is only the beginning of Midthunder’s rise…
Read Empire’s full interview with Amber Midthunder on the success of Prey and more in the new Review Of The Year issue – on sale Thursday 27 October, or pre-order a copy online here. Prey is streaming on Disney+ now.