Actress Miya Cech will play Toph, a master earthbender who was born blind, in the second season of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, the makers announced on Friday.

“Meet Toph, played by Miya Cech in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2,” the official Instagram page of the show wrote alongside a picture of the actress.

Cech made her debut with The Darkest Minds in 2018. She then featured in Rim of the World, the second season of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Astronauts, and Marvelous and the Black Hole.

“I personally am of Chinese and Japanese American descent and I’m so excited to represent my Chinese heritage in Toph Beifong,” Cech said in a statement, expressing how this role is an opportunity for her to honour her heritage.

“One of the most incredible aspects of this show is the diversity of the Asian cultures in the Avatar: The Last Airbender world. Even though the universe is fantasy, it feels like every culture is represented in some way and tied to the history and traditions of that culture or country. Just a few years ago, you might have seen one or two of these actors in a show or movie, but on this show we are all able to represent this world together and work together and collaborate. It’s really amazing and a gift as an actor,” she added.

Cech, who is a longtime fan of the Avatar series, is already training for the role. “I’ve been in boot camp for about a week and a half now and still have a lot of work to do, but it’s super fun. I have some martial arts experience,” she said, adding, “I have a great instructor who I take private classes with 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 that has been very helpful as I learn about Toph’s movements.”

Toph Beifong is a key character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, known for being Aang’s earthbending teacher and one of the most powerful earthbenders in the series. Despite being blind, she uses her special abilities to sense vibrations in the ground to sense her surroundings during fights.

Back in March, Netflix announced that the series has been renewed for its second and third seasons following its first instalment that came out in February. Production for the second season kicked off on Friday.

A live-action reimagining of the Nickelodeon animated series of the same name, Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang, a young boy who is the only one capable of mastering all four elements — air, water, fire and earth.

In the first season, Aang wakes up after a 100-year-long slumber and learns to master the four elements in a bid to restore peace to the world with the help of his newfound friends Katara, a waterbender, and her brother Sokka.