Avatar: The Way of Water is bringing back a few actors who previously appeared in 2009's Avatar. Stephen Lang, who portrayed Colonel Quaritch, recently commented on his character's return, and answered one question on every fan's mind: how is he coming back after having been killed in the previous movie?
Avatar: The Way of Water has a lot to live up to. As the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, Avatar: The Way of Water is already projected to earn less than its predecessor at the domestic box office. While it looks to be living up to Avatar's fantastic standards of CGI, the film remains a mystery, as do the roles of some of its returning cast. For instance, Sigourney Weaver will be returning to the franchise not as human Dr. Grace Augustine, but as Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldaña) adopted Na'vi daughter Kiri, who appears to have a greater connection to Eywa and the previous film than is currently known.
Total Film features a cover story on Avatar: The Way of Water, where Lang discussed his return to the role. He revealed that his character is not an Avatar, but a Recombinant, a sub-type of Avatar that retains Quaritch's memories. Quaritch's identity as essentially a clone raises certain questions according to Lang. "Obviously, someone within the structure of RDA has thought that the concept of a Na'vi marine is not a bad idea for a fighting machine," Lang said. "But, of course, it puts him in a somewhat peculiar position. Because he was dead, and now he's been reconstituted. The question for him is: who is he? What is he? There are warring forces going on within him."
Interestingly, Lang implies Quaritch may have his eyes opened by Eywa. "The Na'vi way starts to become his way. He begins to move much more like a Na'vi, and he begins to adopt their weapons and their mode of travel. From his point of view, he's adjusting his methods to fight the enemy, but what you find on Pandora is the planet operates on you. Eywa will have its way. That's very true of Quaritch, but he still thinks he's the master of the situation." He later says, "I loved the idea that Quaritch is now a Na'vi, and he's going to have his own conflicts, and his own eyes opened, just like what Jake went through. That raises the stakes completely."
With the Avatar re-release having done phenomenal box office numbers globally, fans are sure to remember Lang's Quaritch well. Lang's interview also seems to promise a very meaningful arc for the villain, which could prove to be a very detailed redemption story. On the other hand, Quaritch is portrayed as so stubborn and difficult in the first film that it's possible he simply doubles down on his views toward the Na'vi.
As a long-awaited sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water has led to plenty of speculation about the identities of both Weaver's and Lang's characters. Now that the idea of a Recombinant is out there, it does beg one question: could Jake and Neytiri's mysterious adopted daughter be a Recombinant of Dr. Grace Augustine, without her memories? Her character does have five fingers as opposed to the standard Na'vi's four, and it's possible she's a "reborn" Augustine.
Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters on December 16, 2022.
Source: Total Film (via Slash Film)