Dev Patel, the lead actor of Danny Boyle’s award-hogging “Slumdog Millionaire,” has signed on to join the cast of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender,” according to Variety.
The Paramount and Nickelodeon Films live-action flick is based on a Nick TV series. Patel was nominated for a SAG Best Actor award this year, but maybe next year, thanks to Shyamalan he’ll be up for a Razzie? Who knows.
The one positive aspect of Patel’s casting is that in may silence fans and critics. In the original story, Asian and Inuit culture permeate the series, yet none of the film’s previously announced four leads (Jesse McCartney, ‘Twilight’s Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz and newcomer Noah Ringer) are of Asian descent. This apparently greatly upset fans, who will surely be happier know that the India actor is aboard.
Maybe the surprise ending of this one is that it won’t completely suck for a change? We wouldn’t put money on that.