'The Legend of Korra' Season 4 Episode 1 Release Date & Spoilers: New Villain Character Revealed

Avid fans who watched "The Legend of Korra" from the beginning are finally up for the franchise's Book 4, titled "Balance."

In a report by The Epoch Times, the last season is said to be scheduled for an October 3 premiere. Creators Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino announced the release date on the show's official site. The source added that Book 4 will be 13 episodes long.

In addition, DiMartino revealed that the upcoming season is fully animated by Studio Mir.

The Epoch Times also reported that few have expected the show to premiere this year. Fans knew that the creators were "essentially done" doing the season, yet the announcement at Nickelodeon came as a surprise. Book 4's first episode is titled "The Calling," as told by Entertainment Weekly.

Is there anything to get excited about with Book 4?

Well, a new antagonist is set to join the cast, said The Epoch Times. This villain is neither a spirit nor a Red Lotus member. The Airbenders will become peacekeepers, Jedi-style. Zaheer is discovered to be a master martial artist prior to imprisonment. He was then a professional fighter.

As pointed out by The Wall Street Journal, season 3 was "abruptly pulled from air" in July. Since then, viewers were forced to watch online, and the coming season will not be different. Book 4 will remain to broadcast on Nickelodeon's site. A new episode will come out every Friday, and of course, TV viewing will not be available.

Why the show airs online instead of on TV is a decision that came after recognizing that the online numbers "were just insane." The official Tumblr of "Korra" said that thousands had aked to air the show (Season 3) online. Still, Konietzko told at Comic-Con that TV viewers were also good during the previous seasons.

Forbes mentioned in a report how the final season might battle against more mature content from broadcasters such as Cartoon Network. The outlet added that Nickelodeon can "diversify" by moving to a business model that takes both TV and online pathways. 

The first book debuted in 2012 titled "Avatar: The Last Airbender," under the same creators. "Korra" has been one of the highest-rated kids' series since.

Watch Nickelodeon's official announcement of Book 4 here. The video may not be available in some countries. For those who cannot watch, below is the same video uploaded by Avatar Videos on YouTube.