Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s worthy replacement, Iyanu, is all set to return with season 2, and its upcoming installment’s first-look images have also been revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 27, 2025. The news confirms that the CN/HBO Max/Lion Forge Entertainment series will return with its second season sometime in 2026.
Viewers familiar with the Iyanu franchise would know that the show is based on Iyanu: Child of Wonder by Roye Okupe, which was published by YouNeek Studios and Dark Horse Comics. As Iyanu season 2’s official plot description reveals, it will mark the beginning of a new arc for Iyanu, where she will find herself facing a powerful enemy as tensions rise across Yorubaland.
Here are the first-look images for the show’s upcoming season 2:
Iyuna‘s executive producers include David Steward II, Stephanie Sperber, Kirsten Newlands and Matt Heath from Lion Forge Entertainment, Erica Dupuis of Impact X Capital, Ryan Haidarian of Forefront Media Group and Doug Schwalbe of Superprod, and Roye Okupe. Okupe also serves as the creator and showrunner of the series.
What Iyanu’s Season 2 Return Means For The Franchise’s Future
The Show Seems To Hold Immense Potential
Just like Avatar: The Last Airbender did an incredible job of representing Chinese culture through its imagery and drawing influence from several other Asian and Native American cultures as well, Iyanu achieves something similar by making the Nigerian Yoruba culture more accessible to the masses.
Owing to this, it is not surprising that it is already being considered a worthy rival for Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, even though Iyanu‘s season 1 received rave reviews, and some critics even compared its “chosen one” narrative with that of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther, it has yet to match Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s legacy.
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Its season 2 return is great news as it confirms that it will continue to build its mythos and add more depth to its rich Yoruba-inspired lore. The new first-look images for Iyanu season 2 also suggest that even better animation can be expected from the show’s future arcs, which will allow it to further cement its place in the modern animation landscape and find its place among greats like Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Our Take On Iyanu’s Return & First Look Images
The Show’s Seemingly Promising Future Is Exciting
So far, after its successful one-season run, Iyanu seems to have all the right ingredients to become a long-term franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Even the comparisons with Avatar seem a little unfair for the show, since it is carving its own unique identity with its vibrant animation style and depiction of Nigerian culture.
While only time will tell how Iyanu‘s next installment will turn out, season 2’s plot and first-look images already make it seem like a confident step forward in scale and storytelling. Two new animated Iyanu feature film follow-ups, set to be released in 2025 and 2026 respectively, will also further expand the Avatar: The Last Airbender replacement franchise.