How Quaritch returns in Avatar: The Way of Water

Avatar: The Way of Water recently hit theaters and brought in a bunch of new characters along with old ones, like Colonel Miles Quaritch. But after the big bad villain, the Colonel, died in the first movie, people were left asking how he would return in the sequel.

Stephen Lang did a remarkable job portraying the character in his human form in 2009’s Avatar. He plays the menacing villain with equal finesse and intensity in The Way of Water as well. But how did he come back after his apparent demise in the original? Well, Avatar 2 perfectly answers this question.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water.

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Avatar 2: How Quaritch is different

Stephen Lang as the Colonel in Avatar (Image via 20th Century Studios)

Stephen Lang recently spoke with Digital Spy about his return as Avatar’s famed villain, and revealed how Quaritch is different this time around. Lang stated:

"In the original film, there was a wonderful, colourful character, but he really was primarily there as a function of evil. You know, he was there to be the conflict. And now I think he is that. He still is the source of conflict. But he's also something else again, as he becomes part of the landscape. He becomes part of Pandora, in a way, and that operates on him in very confusing ways."

Of course, there is a visual difference because he comes back as a Na’vi. But this time, he also shows compassion. If you think that he was vicious the last time we saw him, then you need to think again because this time around, he used his Na’vi strength and took his brutality to an entirely different level.

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How the Colonel returns in Avatar 2

Quaritch in Avatar 2 (Image via 20th Century Studios)

James Cameron rightly brought Quaritch back in Avatar: The Way of Water. As it turns out, the advanced technology of the 21st century allows humans to store their memories, which played a huge role in his return. In The Way of Water, the Colonel’s memories have been embedded in a Na'vi body, which is called a Recombinant.

The movie explained how the RDA deployed a failsafe just in case the Colonel was not able to finish the job on Pandora. While the Avatar bodies were being grown for the Colonel and his men on Earth, they recorded the memories of those Marines to be embedded into those bodies. This way, the RDA created Avatar clones of Quaritch and his soldiers.

After waking up, Recom-Quaritch got a briefing from his own human clone, explaining his origins and setting him up on the path of revenge against Jake.

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Why did Quaritch choose to become a Na’vi?

Colonel's Na'vi Recombinant in The Way of Water (Image via 20th Century Studios)

But why did the original Colonel choose to have his memories embedded in a Na’vi body when he hated them with every ounce of his existence? Well, you have to understand that his memories were transferred as a last resort.

Being the commander of the RDA, he was obviously a master tactician, and someone as smart as him just can’t deny the benefits of having a Na’vi body. The playing field is now leveled, as he has the same mind and skills combined with a much more powerful body to execute his plans. So even though he hated the avatars personally, he has become a huge asset for the RDA.

With this new upgrade, he became a significant threat to all Na'vi on Pandora. We can expect him to come out with guns blazing in Avatar 3 as he brings the war to the Metkayina clan.

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Avatar: The Seed Bearer is scheduled for release on December 20, 2024.