Stephen Lang On His Reconstituted Character In ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’: There’s A Lot Of Old Quaritch In Him

Thirteen years after Academy Award-winner James Cameron introduced viewers to a world unlike any they had ever seen with his breathtaking film Avatar, Disney+ Hotstar is now streaming the eagerly-awaited sequel ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’ 

Available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, this groundbreaking cinematic odyssey unveils a new underwater adventure that promises to mesmerise viewers again. Returning to reprise their iconic roles, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña portray Jake Sully and Neytiri, devoted parents doing everything possible to protect their family. Joining them are Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet and other esteemed actors Sigourney Weaver, Cliff Curtis and Stephen Lang. 

Many were surprised to learn about Stephen Lang’s return to the sequel after the death of his character Colonel Miles Quaritch, in ‘Avatar’, who played the human antagonist. However, this time with the Resources Development Administration (RDA) returning to the moon with reinforcement,  Lang returns as a recombinant, or recom, of his character. A recom is a specialised autonomous avatar embedded with the memories of the human whose DNA was used to create it. 

With so much anticipation for the sequel continuing to escalate, the actor revealed more details about his return to the character.  “The new Quaritch has been reconstituted. He’s new but there’s a lot of old Quaritch in him, he’s still got the fire, he’s still got the aggression and he’s still got the singular vision that Quaritch had. But that is now being combined with the way of water. Pandora has gotten into his blood streams and that’s going to have all kinds of repercussions on how he thinks, how he behaves, how he feels and what it does to his spirits,” said Stephen Lang. 

He further explained how the preparation for the role was very physical. “Physical preparation for me is the go-to thing when it comes to Quaritch. He keeps himself the way he wants to be seen which is in shape to lead because he’s always going to be leading from the front. Quaritch likes to be visible, so the preparation was very physical,” he added. 

The screenplay, a collaborative effort by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno, captures the essence of the story while Cameron and Jon Landau serve as the film's producers. The sequel also introduces audiences to a group of talented young actors including Britain Dalton, Jamie Flatters, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion and Bailey Bass. Cameron’s below-the-line team includes Production Designers Dylan Cole and Ben Procter, Academy Award® winning Director of Photography Russell Carpenter, and Academy Award® winning Costume Designer Deborah L. Scott, with Music by Simon Franglen.

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.