From Naru to Yue! Following Amber Midthunder’s breakout success on this 12 months’s Predator prequel Prey, her subsequent transfer is to the fantasy epic Avatar: The Final Airbender. Netflix is reviving and remixing the anime-influenced franchise as an eight-episode live-action sequence below the stewardship of Dan Lin – and although the final live-action Airbender try didn’t go terribly effectively for its director M. Night time Shyamalan, Midthunder’s enthusiasm for the brand new model is undimmed.

“I’m geeking out!” she tells Empire, in our Overview Of The Yr situation. “I cherished Avatar as a child. I rewatched it just lately and I like that character [the Northern Water Tribe’s Princess Yue]. I’m very excited.”

Whilst she appears to be like forward to new tasks on the horizon, Midthunder remains to be reeling from the overwhelmingly constructive response to Prey – notably from the individuals of the Comanche Nation, represented in Prey not simply by way of their tradition and folks, but additionally in an alternate model of the movie dubbed within the Comanche language, which is obtainable to look at on Disney+.

“We did a pre-screening, earlier than the film was even completed, in Oklahoma for them,” Midthunder remembers, “and I hid behind the theatre. Watching it in that setting was so transferring. It’s been such an emotional expertise being with my very own individuals, or different native individuals, and attending to see what this implies to the people who it represents. To be acquired in addition to we’ve been acquired by so many various kinds of individuals [including] indigenous communities… I really feel very glad, to say the least.” We’ve a sense that is solely the start of Midthunder’s rise…

Learn Empire’s full interview with Amber Midthunder on the success of Prey and extra within the new Overview Of The Yr situation – on sale Thursday 27 October, or pre-order a duplicate on-line right here. Prey is streaming on Disney+ now.