Although not a lot is known about Avatar: Fire & Ash’s plot, the next Avatar movie’s villain, Varang, already sounds intriguing. There are many Avatar movies coming out in the next few years as director James Cameron’s epic sci-fi series continues to expand the world of Pandora. Avatar: The Way of Water’s ending left many questions unanswered, but 2025’s Avatar: Fire & Ash is likely to introduce even more new story strands into the increasingly complex saga. Already, Kiri’s emerging powers, Spider’s relationship with Quaritch, and Lo’ak’s conflicted loyalties to both the Metkayina and his family flesh out the franchise’s setup.

According to series star Zoe Saldaña, who plays Neytiri, much of Avatar: Fire & Ash‘s story will follow Jake and Neytiri grieving the loss of their eldest son Neteyam in Avatar: The Way of Water’s finale. However, the sequel will also be exploring new parts of Pandora. Much like how The Way of Water introduced the Metkayina, there will be new Na’vi brought into the fold here, and not all of them will be good news for Jake, Neytiri, and co.

Varang Is The Leader Of The Ash Clan In Avatar 3

Avatar: Fire & Ash’s Ash Clan Will Be The Franchise’s First Villainous Na’vi

In Avatar: The Way of Water’s opening scenes, the RDA returns to Pandora years after Jake and Neytiri drove the human invaders off the planet. The RDA seems more threatening than ever in the sequel, pairing up with Tulkun hunters to oppress the Metakyina until Jake’s clan and Payakan lead a violent resistance against them. Avatar: Fire & Ash’s story will continue to chronicle the Na’vi clans resisting humans invading their homeland and stealing the planet’s resources. However, this time around, not all the Na’vi resisting colonization will be portrayed as outright heroes, judging by one new character.

Avatar: Fire & Ash introduces at least two new Na’vi clans and tribes: there are the Wind Traders, an airborne group that “Corral gigantic Pandoran creatures.” Then there is the Ash Clan, who are led by Oona Chaplin’s new character Varang.

Varang will reportedly be the franchise’s first villainous Na’vi character as the leader of a clan who has suffered for years and been hardened by their hardship. The Ash Clan are villains, but their villainy will likely be understandable thanks to the brutal mistreatment they endured from Pandora’s human invaders over the years. Chaplin’s Varang comes to embody the clan’s toughness and subsequent villainy.

The Ash Clan’s Struggles Push Varang Into A Villainous Role In Avatar: Fire & Ash

The Avatar Franchise Complicates Its Morality In Avatar: Fire & Ash

According to Empire, Varang’s Ash Clan “Have gone through an incredible hardship” by the time the sequel’s story begins. While it is hard to imagine Avatar: Fire & Ash uniting the RDA with Na’vi clans, the Ash Clan might be amenable to such an idea thanks to their years of suffering. Cameron noted that Varang’s loyalty to her people means she is willing to do even “Things that we would consider to be evil,” for the sake of her clan’s survival. This could result in her cutting a deal with the RDDA or selling out other clans like the Metkayina.

It would be easy for the Avatar series to continually pit heroic Na’vi characters against villainous humans, but characters like Varang make Avatar: Fire & Ash‘s story more complex. Cameron himself noted that this was one of the sequel’s main aims, telling Empire that “One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic.” The events of Avatar: Fire & Ash are intended to “Evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm,” which will likely mean that Varang’s attempts at resistance will become as violent and bloody as Quaritch’s attacks on Jake Sully’s clan.

Avatar: Fire & Ash Will Break A Villain Trend For The Franchise

Avatar And Its First Sequel Featured Only Human Villains

Although the Avatar movies feature memorable villains like Quaritch and Avatar: The Way of Water’s General Ardmore, Avatar: Fire & Ash‘s Varang will be the franchise’s first major Na’vi antagonist. This marks an interesting shift for the franchise, complicating the fictional world of the series and ensuring that its story doesn’t feel repeтιтive or one-note. Avatar: Fire & Ash must ensure that the series still frames the human invaders as the primary antagonists of the franchise, since their unjustified invasion prompted the initial suffering of the Na’vi. However, introducing secondary Na’vi villains makes the franchise’s universe feel more immersive and compelling.

Chaplin’s Varang will also be the first major new villain who isn’t affiliated with the RDA, although it is not clear how long this will last. Quaritch and Ardmore are both representatives of the RDA and, although the Tulkun hunters are technically independent operators, they work hand in hand with the RDA to oppress the Metkayina throughout Avatar: The Way of Water’s story. As such, it will be interesting to see whether Chaplin’s Varang ends up aligning herself with the human invaders of Pandora, or if her villainy comes from acts of violent resistance against the occupying army’s invasion of her planet.

Where You’ve Seen Varang Actor Oona Chaplin Before

Oona Chaplin Appeared In Game Of Thrones And Black Mirror: White Christmas

Varang’s actor, Oona Chaplin, has been active since 2007. One of her earliest notable roles was as Jeanette in the Sherlock episode “A Scandal in Belgravia,” and the same year saw her appear as Robb Stark’s ill-fated love interest Talisa Maegyr in Game of Thrones. After that, Chaplin played the digital clone Greta in Black Mirror: White Christmas, and had a main role in 2017’s Taboo. Chaplin also co-starred alongside Jamie Dornan and Peter Dinklage in 2018’s My Dinner With Herve and played Lisa Page in the 2020 miniseries The Comey Rule before the Avatar series.

On the big screen, Chaplin has starred in movies like 2013’s What If…, 2014’s Purgatory, 2015’s The Longest Ride, and 2017’s Anchor and Hope. Since 2017, she played Alice in the Made for Love episode “Alice? Are You Listening?” and appeared as Maddy de Costa in the 2022 spy series Treason. Avatar: Fire & Ash will be Chaplin’s biggest role for some time, and she is confirmed to be filming 2029’s sequel Avatar 4 already. As such, viewers can be certain that Avatar: Fire & Ash’s villain will play a major role in the Avatar franchise going forward.

Source: Empire