Miyako’s Toph Won’t Grow Old Waiting for a ‘Legend of Korra’ Comeback
The arrival of Toph Beifong has long been one of the most anticipated moments in any adaptation of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ and Netflix’s live-action version delivered exactly that electricity when Miyako made her debut in season 2. The fan-favorite earthbender joined Gordon Cormier’s Aang, Kiawentiio’s Katara, and Ian Ousley’s Sokka on their mission to restore peace as the Fire Nation’s reach continues to grow. For a character so deeply embedded in franchise lore, it was always going to be a role that invited massive questions about what comes next.
Executive producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani have said that out of “thousands upon thousands” of auditions submitted for Toph, they both immediately and separately arrived at the same conclusion that Miyako was the perfect fit. Bringing the beloved earthbender to life required Miyako to master a physical vocabulary, intricate stunt choreography, vision-obscuring contact lenses, and even some oversize silicone feet, all after spending six weeks in dedicated “Toph training” with blindness consultant Joe Strechay. That level of commitment to the role makes the question of her long-term future in the franchise feel especially loaded.
Now, with the Netflix series officially ending after season 3, Miyako spoke with Screen Rant’s Tatiana Hullender for the season 2 cover story and was asked about her thoughts on a potential future for Toph after the planned finale. The star’s response was candid, warmhearted, and laced with laughter. She acknowledged that it is “a stretch” to ask Netflix and the production team to wait until she is “90-something years old” to play the much older version of Toph seen in ‘The Legend of Korra,’ where the character appears as a weathered swamp-dwelling elder who trained two Avatars.
Even so, Miyako expressed that she would genuinely like to make that follow-up if the opportunity ever arose, and laughed as she wondered aloud whether the team could find another actor short enough to take over the role, given that she stands at just 4’11”. It is the kind of self-aware humor that fans of the character will immediately recognize as very Toph energy.
Miyako also expressed a deep interest in passing on the legacy of Toph to others, noting that the original voice actress Michaela had passed the torch to her in a way that genuinely moved her. She shared that she has been actively hyping up others who are moving on to play the character or have already done so. That generosity of spirit suggests someone who understands the weight a beloved character carries across generations of fans, rather than someone looking to hold the role indefinitely.
Seasons 2 and 3 of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ were filmed back-to-back, with the cast and crew having already wrapped production on the final chapter of the Gaang’s saga. In the season 2 finale, Toph became the first known earthbender to discover metalbending, realizing that metal contains traces of earth while captured and separated from the rest of the group. That moment alone cements her importance to the live-action mythology, whatever happens beyond the series finale.
While Toph’s storyline in the comics and graphic novel ‘Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy’ offers rich material that could theoretically carry the character into future stories, Miyako herself feels that Toph’s arc is “pretty well-rounded out,” pointing to how the character trains two Avatars, has two children to carry on her legacy, and remains “cool and spunky and interesting” throughout it all. Whether the franchise eventually revisits these years in live-action form with Miyako or a new face in the role, it’s worth asking: do you think Toph’s story deserves its own spinoff chapter, or is season 3 the right place to leave her legacy intact?
