Despite his character seemingly dying in the original Avatar, Stephen Lang is set to make his return as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar: The Way of Water. In a recent interview with Empire, Lang revealed just how thatās possible.
In the highly anticipated Avatar sequel, Lang will play a ārecomā version of himself, which stands for a recombinant. Essentially, according to Lang, his charactersā mind, emotions, and potentially the spirit of Quaritch has been downloaded into an autonomous avatar.
āHeās a genetically-engineered autonomous avatar,ā said Lang. āHe has been downloaded with the mind, the emotions, and even more interestingly, possibly the spirit of Quaritch. Now, thatās all pretty esoteric stuff. He comes with a full memory bank up until the time he actually undergoes the DNA transfer. So there are certain things that he doesnāt have any memory of at all. He has no memory of his death.ā
While Langās Quaritch may now be housed inside of an avatar, it doesnāt mean heās going to be any nicer or more accepting of the people who stand in his way.
āItās fair to say it, but I think itās incomplete,ā Lang said when asked if he was still the same old Quaritch. āIf you think about it, in the original film, Quaritch was really a function. He was a colourful function ā a personality-filled function, but he really was there to provide conflict. Now, he still has that function but I also think, just because of the depths of what Jim is exploring here, heās quite a bit more than that. Weāre seeing parts of him that we have not seen hitherto. That only makes sense because we donāt want to be massaging the same territory over and over again. We need to go to new places and indeed he does.ā
The sequel is directed and co-written by James Cameron. It features the return of Sam Worthington, Zoe SaldaƱa, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver. Additional cast members include Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, Jemaine Clement, and Oona Chaplin, alongside a slate of young actors.
āSet more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure,ā says the official synopsis.
Three additional films are planned, with Avatar 3 tentatively scheduled for December 20, 2024, Avatar 4 set for December 18, 2026, and Avatar 5 on December 22, 2028.