Hot Streaming Tea: Netflix’s Avatar Finds Its Toph; “The Boys” Picks “Hamilton” Star For Mystery Role

Upcoming new seasons of our favourite shows are always preceded by exciting teases, as we’re introduced to a plethora of new faces for us to love and/or hate.

It’s doubly true when it comes to a story adaptation, as we are dying to know who will portray our favourite characters. Well, the biggest series on streaming platforms right now have just announced some familiar names that we will soon see on screen… 

Miya Cech Is Your Toph Beifong

We know that “Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender” has been quite divisive among the fandom since it first aired earlier this year. Many argue that it doesn’t adapt everything from the original 2005 properly, but it also does some parts as good, if not far better than the original.

Regardless of their stance, the fanbase is absolutely excited to see who will portray everyone’s favourite earth bender, Toph Beifong. Well their question is now answered, as the showrunners have chosen Miya Cech to be their live-action Blind Bandit.

The young, Japan-born actress made her debut on the big screen back in 2018 with “The Darkest Minds.” Since then, she has starred in a few more films and television shows, such as 2019’s “Rim of the World” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”; 2020’s “The Astronauts,” 2021’s “Marvelous and the Black Hole,” and more.

“Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender’s” executive producer, Jabbar Raisani, teased that, much like the animated series, Toph will add an entirely new dynamic that will complicate Team Avatar’s dynamic, as they continue their quest to fight and defeat the Fire Nation.

As mentioned earlier, this adaptation isn’t a carbon copy of the original, as it has dropped some storylines to potentially speed up the pacing and fit within the episode limit that Netflix probably has. However, the team has also proven that they are keeping the major storybeats and plot lines intact, one of which would be Toph’s arrival in season 2.

If the showrunners do choose to lean heavily into Toph’s character, she’ll easily be the highlight of Netflix’s series. We also cannot dismiss the possibility that the series might expand on the earthbending prodigy’s character and take it a step further than the original, much like how they expanded on Zuko and Iroh’s relationship. But we’ll wait and see until the series returns sometime in 2026.

Daveed Diggs Joins “The Boys” For A Secret Role

As everyone is preparing to say goodbye to their favourite R-rated superhero drama, “The Boys,” the series has decided to add a new player into the mix as it reaches its final phase.

Amazon had just closed a deal with Daveed Diggs, the singer-songwriter actor who is known for his dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” He is also known for his roles in 2019’s “Velvet Buzzsaw” and 2023’s “The Little Mermaid.”

Unfortunately, what his role is has been a closely guarded secret. However, according to Entertainment Weekly, Diggs will most likely have an important role in the show, potentially reaching the same heights as Kar Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, and Anthony Starr, to name a few.

Remarkably, this is not the first time the actor has appeared in an R-rated superhero series; he voiced Theo in the animated “Invincible” series.

The showrunner for “The Boys,” Eric Kripke, also told Entertainment Weekly that he has been in contact with Jared Padalecki, a former cast member of “Supernatural,” regarding a possible role and that, barring any unforeseen scheduling conflicts, it will probably work out.

“There’s no guarantee of who’s gonna survive because we don’t have to keep them for another season, so you can have really shocking, big things happen all the time,” Kripke previously told Total Film about season 5. “And so, as the writers, as we’re starting to cook it up, we’re really enjoying that.”

On the decision to end “The Boys” with season 5, Kripke told EW, “I’m excited to finally execute a 5-season plan,” referring to how he famously had a five-season plan for “Supernatural” before the show continued on for another decade. “That’s very exciting for me. Part of it is such a wonky, stupid screenwriter thing, but three and five are the big magical numbers for writing. Three is movie acts, TV acts are five. Jokes are a runner of three for five. Five just seems like a good round number. It’s enough to tell the story but also bring it to a climax without wearing out its welcome. It’s been hard because I haven’t been able to tell everyone. I was thrilled to finally be able to get the word out there.”

If you’re feeling blue about the fact that “The Boys” will soon come to an end, worry not, as the franchise is expected to continue with “Gen V” and the newly-announced prequel series “Vought Rising” that will star Jensen Ackles’ Soldier and Aya Cash’s Stormfront.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, The Verge, Netflix

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.