Bryan Konietzko

Bryan Konietzko
Konietzko at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Bryan Joseph Konietzko
Alma materRhode Island School of Design (BFA)
Occupation(s)Animator, producer, writer, director
Years active1999–present
Known forCo-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra
TitleCo-Chief Creative Officer, Avatar Studios
Spouse
Lisa Konietzko
​
(m. 2004)​

Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and director. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

Career

Konietzko has worked as a character designer at Film Roman for Family Guy and as assistant director for Mission Hill and King of the Hill. He was a storyboard artist and art director for the Nickelodeon animated series Invader Zim.

Between 2001 and 2014, Konietzko, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, was mainly occupied with writing and producing the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra for Nickelodeon. Konietzko's and DiMartino's long-standing creative partnership is collectively referred to as "Bryke" by fans, in reference to "shipping" naming conventions.[1]

As of 2015, Konietzko was working on writing and illustrating a sci-fi graphic novel series, Threadworlds, that is to be published by First Second Books, but there is no release date.[2]

In September 2018, Netflix announced that Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as executive producers and showrunners for the live-action series based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, which released in 2024.[3] On August 12, 2020, Konietzko and DiMartino revealed on social media that they had both departed the show, due to creative differences with the Netflix team.[4]

In February 2021, ViacomCBS announced the formation of Avatar Studios, a division of Nickelodeon centered on developing newer animated series and movies set in the same universe as Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, with both DiMartino and Konietzko helming the studio as co-chief creative officers reporting to Nickelodeon Animation Studio president, Ramsey Ann Naito.[5] The first project of the studio is an animated film that is currently set to release on January 20, 2026.[6][7]

Personal life

Konietzko graduated from Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia, a suburb north of Atlanta. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1998.[8][9] He resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife Lisa.[10]

Konietzko is also active in photography and has a band, Ginormous,[11] with which he has released several albums. These include Our Ancestors' Intense Love Affair and At Night, Under Artificial Light.

References

  1. ^ Hoffman, Mike (8 January 2015). "Four Ways The Legend of Korra Respected Its Younger Viewers". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. ^ Towers, Andrea (6 July 2015). "Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra creator previews new graphic novel Threadworlds -- exclusive". EW.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  3. ^ Hipes, Patrick (18 September 2018). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Live-Action Series in Works at Netflix". Deadline. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Bryan Konietzko on Instagram: "Well, friends... There you have it. Big sigh. 💔⬇️💔 I'm sure many of you will understandably want to know more and will ask me questions in the comments, here and on subsequent posts and live-streams and in-person encounters and everywhere else ad infinitum. I wish I could explain things in greater detail, but the above statement is really all I can say about the matter so I won't be answering any of those. I encourage you to head over to my partner Michael DiMartino's account to get his take on our departure too: @mike_dante_d Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the Avatar: The Last Airbender fans, and I'm sorry our involvement in the live-action project did not work out. Time to get on with my life. Onward and upward. 💙 Love, Bryan #avatarthelastairbender #cocreators #michaeldimatino #bryankonietzko #bryke #atla #liveactionseries #netflix"". Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  5. ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (February 24, 2021). "Nickelodeon Launches Avatar Studios, Will Expand World of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' 'The Legend of Korra'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  6. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2022-11-10). "Paramount Sets Dates For New 'SpongeBob' & 'Aang Avatar' Animated Movies". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  7. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2024-04-18). "'Aang: The Last Airbender' Delayed to 2026, 'Transformers One' Moves Back a Week". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  8. ^ Konietzko, Bryan. "About" Archived 2017-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, bryankonietzko.com. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Nickelodeon Establishes Avatar Studios, Brand-New Content Division Devoted to Expanding the World of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra". Paramount Global. February 21, 2021. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "Bryan konietzko". 9 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2009-09-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)