It’s been interesting to see the Avatar franchise unfold over the course of three films. What started as a visually groundbreaking but narratively familiar story has turned into a massive and successful franchise.
With Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron has leaned into riskier storytelling and more interesting character arcs. Now, as attention shifts toward Avatar 4, two of the saga’s most finteresting characters are already thinking ahead.
During a recent press day at Lightstorm Entertainment celebrating the home release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Oona Chaplin and Stephen Lang opened up about where they’d like to see their characters go next.
Chaplin’s Varang came into Fire and Ash like a force of nature. She was fierce and commanding, and quickly became one of the film’s standout elements. But if you’re expecting more of the same chaos-driven intensity in Avatar 4, Chaplin is actually interested in something more layered.
“So for me, I think that it’s like a coming of age story with this film for Varang. She kind of goes from being warrior princess to, for him, empress of something, [she’s] in a relationship, and her horizons have been blown open by her relationship with Quaritch and everything that that has signified.
“And so for me, there’s a real … I’m curious about her maturing and how strategy comes into her life as opposed to just like fire reactivity of just being kind of brilliantly fierce. But yeah, so her maturing is something that I’m really interested to see where it takes her.”
Varang isn’t just a chaotic threat anymore. There’s a sense she’s learning, adapting, and possibly becoming even more dangerous by thinking ahead instead of reacting in the moment.
Her connection with Quaritch could be shaping that shift in a big way, especially after the fallout with the Sully family and Kiri, played by Sigourney Weaver.
On the other side of that relationship, Lang is looking at the bigger picture. Quaritch has always been a complicated presence in these films, and now, with his recombinant Na’vi form and unexpected emotional ties, there’s a lot going on under the surface.
“…the regal nature of the relationship [with Varang] is very interesting to me. And also it probably will prompt a ‘no queens’ movement on Pandora as well, and a ‘No Kings’ movement on Pandora.
“But for Quaritch […] of course this relationship is remarkable. Never could have conceived it would be as densely interesting and popular as it is. Also, my relationship with Spider is a source of complete confusion to Quaritch. Maybe not so much as it was, but he’s got a lot to chew on.”
That “no kings, no queens” idea is especially interesting. If Pandora’s clans begin pushing back against both the RDA and figures like Varang and Quaritch, it could introduce a whole new kind of conflict. Not just good versus evil, but a broader cultural resistance.
Then there’s Spider, played by Jack Champion, whose connection to Quaritch adds a personal layer to everything. That relationship feels like it could reshape the emotional core of the next film.
At this point, Avatar 4 is still a ways off, but hearing Chaplin and Lang talk about their characters makes the wait a little easier.
Between Varang’s potential rise into a more calculated leader and Quaritch’s ongoing internal struggle, the next chapter is shaping up to be anything but predictable.
Source: /Film
