The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender has been making some unfortunate headlines in recent months, and that’s not thanks to the upcoming Paramount film bypassing its original theatrical run for streaming. The return of Aang and his fellow benders saw the entirety of the Avatar: The Last Airbender follow-up leaked online, and it seems that the same fate has befallen The Amazing Digital Circus. Various leaked clips from the grand finale have found their way online weeks before the series finale debuts in theaters. In response to this unfortunate circumstance, the creator of the beloved web series has shared their thoughts.
The creator of The Amazing Digital Circus, simply known as “Gooseworx,” has long been an active part of social media, routinely interacting with fans of their web series. In a recent post, one fan asked the animator about the leaks from the finale and whether they were legit, “I haven’t seen what the leaks even are, but I’m gonna guess, probably not?” When another poster said that the leaks were real, Gooseworx flippantly responded with, “Ehhh, who cares?” For those who don’t know, The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act will arrive in theaters on June 4th, two weeks before landing on YouTube entirely for free. Even outside of the recent leaks, the grand finale for the beloved series has seen its fair share of controversies.
I haven't seen what the leaks even are, but I'm gonna guess, probably not?
Outside of the leaks, many fans of the circus weren’t too thrilled to see that the series finale was releasing in theaters without a simultaneous YouTube release. Considering that the web series has long been both free and available easily via YouTube, the creators had previously discussed the reasoning behind why it was necessary to bring The Last Act to the silver screen. While the Middle East has banned the film from hitting theaters, even fans in that area of the world will have the chance to catch the finale weeks later.
Glitch Productions CEO founder Kevin Lerdwichagul went into detail earlier this year to address fan concerns over the release method. As Lerdwichagul detailed, the reasoning behind why The Last Act is hitting theaters is to help the world of independent animation hit a new level. Specifically, the Glitch executive stated, “The reason we’re pushing for this at all is because this one event has the potential to change how the entire industry views indie animation. If this works, if we get a YouTube animated series into thousands of theatres globally, it opens the door not just for us, but for many creators, many projects, and the future of original, creator-led storytelling. To be blunt, getting to this point has been a massive uphill battle.” With the upcoming cinematic release already one of Fathom’s biggest theatrical events, shattering records in overall pre-sales, the Digital Circus is looking to end things with a bang.
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