Uncle Iroh Actor Reveals the Avatar: The Last Airbender Spinoff Fans Have Been Waiting For

Here is a pitch I did not have on my Avatar bingo card: Uncle Iroh himself wants a spinoff that tries to redeem, of all people, Fire Lord Ozai. Yes, the guy who wanted to scorch the Earth Kingdom off the map. Wild, right?

Where this came from

Greg Baldwin, who took over as the voice of Uncle Iroh after Mako passed away in 2006, dropped the idea on the official Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast. Fans are constantly asking for more Avatar stories, so Baldwin decided to toss out a concept that definitely gets the imagination going.

'People are always talking about Zuko's redemption arc, right? And you know the redemption arc I would like to see more than any other — I would like to see Ozai's redemption arc.'

Why Ozai, of all people?

Baldwin's basic argument: Ozai used to be the most powerful person on the planet, then Aang stripped him of his firebending using energybending in the series finale. That crash from untouchable tyrant to powerless prisoner could be a brutal, humbling reality check — the kind of thing that might actually force change.

For anyone who needs a refresher: Ozai was the show's overarching big bad, father to Zuko and Azula, and the final boss Aang had to face. His plan during Sozin's Comet was to burn down the Earth Kingdom and crown himself ruler of everything. He lost, hard, and ended the series with zero bending.

The Iroh angle: show us the man before the tea

The conversation also drifted to Iroh's own past, and Baldwin made it clear he'd love to see the version of Iroh who was not yet the serene mentor with a jasmine blend. Iroh earned the title 'Dragon of the West' for a reason — serious military campaigns, serious reputation. He eventually grew apart from Ozai over Ozai's aggression, extreme tactics, and naked ambition, but there was a time when Iroh actually respected his brother's ruthlessness.

What changed? Age, perspective, and tragedy. After Iroh's son, Lu Ten, died, Iroh's hunger for power evaporated. He stopped fighting for the throne and became the man we meet in the series: wiser, kinder, and very much done with the empire-building.

So, what kind of spinoff are we talking about?

Nothing is in development — this is Baldwin spitballing on a podcast — but the ideas are undeniably intriguing:

• An Ozai-centered story that starts with him powerless and digs into whether a monster can actually change.
• An Iroh prequel that tracks his toughest years: military glory, moral blind spots, Lu Ten's death, and the pivot from conqueror to philosopher.

Both pitches flip familiar characters on their heads. An Ozai redemption arc would be a shock to the system, and an Iroh-at-his-worst prequel could deepen a fan favorite without breaking what makes him great now.

Where to watch the original

'Avatar: The Last Airbender' is streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount+ if you want to revisit how Ozai fell and how Iroh found his compass in the first place.