Dante Basco and Michaela Jill Murphy recreated a Zuko and Toph scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender in a new TikTok, showing the pair posing together just like their characters. Although Avatar: The Last Airbender ended its three-season run in 2008, the show went on to find success in its sequel series The Legend of Korra and now has a live-action Netflix series in the works. The live-action remake will follow the same adventures and characters as the original animated series and is expected to release sometime in 2023.
Basco has always received love for voicing the temperamental banished Prince Zuko, with viewers also praising the writing of Zuko’s character arc and relationships he eventually builds with characters like Toph. Known for his roles as leader of the Lost Boys in Steven Spielberg’s Hook and Julian Lee in Fakin’ da Funk, Basco has gone on to do many voice acting roles including Zuko’s grandson in The Legend of Korra, Jingmei in The Boondocks, and Jai Kell in Star Wars Rebels. Murphy, who played the blind but very powerful Earthbender Toph Beifong, also found further success in voice acting with roles in movies like Meet the Robinsons, Over the Hedge, The Ant Bully, and Finding Nemo.
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In a TikTok posted by Basco, he and Murphy reunite at Anime Houston to recreate a scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3 of Toph eagerly hugging Zuko’s arm while he blushes and looks at her unsure. Murphy puts on her best wide grin to match Toph’s and Basco does his best panicked Zuko face as they embrace and cut to the photo of their animated characters in the same pose together. With Toph’s eagerness to have an adventure with Zuko and Zuko not used to affection, Basco and Murphy show that they can still channel their characters and their unlikely friendship. See Basco’s TikTok below.
While Zuko and Toph do not interact much until Zuko joins Avatar Aang to stop the Fire Nation, the two have one of the most unlikely but hilarious friendships in the show. Many viewers even ship the two as a couple, although it is known that a romantic relationship between Zuko and Toph never happened after the original series. Even though Toph never gets her Zuko adventure like the rest of the gang, the two develop a strong relationship of trust and respect as powerful benders and loyal friends.
Audience excitement for Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series has only continued to grow since the adaptation’s announcement, and seeing the original voice actors back together certainly bolsters eagerness for new Avatar content. Basco and Murphy are not involved in the live-action adaptation, but their continued appearances at events like Comic Con and anime conventions – as well as Basco co-hosting the Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast – keep them involved with the wider Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. An actress for Toph has not been cast for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, which makes sense because she doesn’t appear until the second season in the original show, but Dallas James Liu will be playing Zuko.
Source: Dante Basco
