“The Last Airbender”, Season 2 on Netflix

While most of Team Avatar was already assembled in the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, one important member was missing: Toph Beifong, who was introduced in the second season of the animated series and immediately became a fan-favorite character.

Now, during Netflix Geeked Week, we know which actor landed the role after an open casting search. That's Miya Cech, a 17-year-old actress who has appeared in films like You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah and played young Amy in Beef, played by Ali Wong, who won an Emmy for the role.

No, Miya Cech is neither blind nor visually impaired, although the casting call said that such actors were encouraged to apply. So she has to learn elaborate earthbending choreography while playing a blind character, which is far beyond the requirements of the other members of the cast. Here's what she said about the training:

“I've been in boot camp for about a week and a half now and I still have a lot to do, but it's super fun. I have some martial arts experience. I have a great trainer who I take private lessons from back home in Northern California and he keeps me in shape when I'm not working. I also have some dance experience from when I was younger, which helped me a lot when I learned Toph's moves.”

The report also states that she works with a blind consultant and the goal is to “properly represent the blind community.” She also talks about her Chinese and Japanese heritage, which she proudly represents in her role in a fictional world that pays tribute to Asian culture in its various countries.

I've never seen Cech in action, or at least I don't really remember her from beef, but considering how well the casting went for the rest of the series, I'm confident they did indeed find the right person. Netflix also released a teaser trailer for Toph's arrival, but Cech isn't shown specifically, just the bottom part of the Toph costume and a bit of earthbending.

One problem with season 2 of Avatar is the announcement that production will only Only are starting season 2 now, even though season 1 aired seven months ago. So they haven't hit the ground running, and we're probably heading for the good old two-year gap between seasons that's become so common. Oh well. I guess we'll see more of Cech later.

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