Avatar: The Way of Water reintroduced Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch as the villain of the franchise by reviving him as a Na’Vi clone. This begins a bold new journey for him as he continues to wage war against Jake Sully and the rest of the Na’Vi in the Avatar franchise. However, Avatar: Fire and Ash will introduce another tribe of Na’Vi to serve as new antagonists: the Mangkwan Clan (or “Ash People”).
While it may have seemed like this threequel would add too much for one film to juggle, it has been revealed that Quaritch will team up with the Mangkwan Clan in Avatar: Fire and Ash. This team-up between the Colonel and the Ash People should make for a dark but cohesive story for Avatar: Fire and Ash. It also establishes Quaritch as a villain with no redemption in sight in the Avatar franchise.
Quaritch Will Work With The Fire Na’vi, The Franchise’s New Villains, In Avatar 3
Quaritch Will Become An Even More Powerful Villain Thanks To The Ash People
CinemaCon’s footage of Avatar: Fire and Ash depicted Quaritch wearing red paint or blood, signaling that he has sided with the Ash People. It’s no surprise that this fiery tribe of the Na’Vi would team up with Quaritch. Though humanity has caused much death and suffering for the Na’Vi in the Avatar universe, the Ash People are very different from the rest of their kind.
Unlike the other Na’Vi on Pandora, the Ash People loathe nature and the goddess Eywa after their previous home was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Since the Mangkwan Clan stands against everything that the other Na’Vi hold sacred, it makes sense that they would ᴀssist Quaritch in destroying Jake and his loved ones.
Quaritch Aligning With The Fire Na’vi Ensures He’s Remaining A Villain For Avatar 3 & Won’t Be Redeemed
Quaritch Will Go To Even Darker Lengths To Defeat Jake In Avatar: Fire And Ash
It seemed like Quaritch was on the road to redemption with the way he was trying to bond with his son, Spider, in Avatar: The Way of Water. However, Quaritch all but turns his back on his child in favor of completing his ruthless quest to kill Jake and his family and colonize Pandora. Even after the events of the second Avatar film, it looks like Quaritch won’t reform and will continue to spread death and chaos on the Na’Vi planet in the threequel.
In fact, it seems like Quaritch will further embrace his villainous nature by aligning with the Ash People in Avatar: Fire and Ash. By forging this alliance, he is taking the Na’Vi and turning them against each other so he can destroy them and forward his own sinister goals. Though Quaritch has considerable military power at his disposal courtesy of the Resources Development Administration (RDA), having a tribe of ruthless, nature-hating Na’Vi on his side would make it harder for Jake and his allies to defeat them.
Avatar 3 Redeeming Quaritch Would Be A Mistake
Quaritch Turning Good Would Be A Step Too Far For His Character
Though Star Wars has shown the world that no villain is beyond redemption, Quaritch reforming in the Avatar franchise seems out of character for him at this point in the story. Time and time again, he has proven himself to be a callous and hateful person. In the first two Avatar films, the Colonel has killed so many innocent people, both human and Na’Vi, including Jake’s young son in Avatar: The Way of Water. He was even willing to let his son Spider die during his battle with Jake and his family.
Now that Spider has disowned his father, Quaritch has little link to his former life, making it even more unlikely that he would suddenly change his ways.
After Spider saves his father’s life at the end of the second film, Quaritch fails to see the error of his ways and continues to fight against his son and the Na’Vi. Now that Spider has disowned his father, Quaritch has little link to his former life, making it even more unlikely that he would suddenly change his ways. This leaves his hate and thirst for revenge as the only thing that fuels his existence, which will drive him to commit more atrocities in the third Avatar film.
Overall, Avatar: Fire and Ash is ready to take Quaritch’s villainous character to the next level. As it seems he will add the Ash People to his ranks, it doesn’t seem like Jake and his family will make it out of the third film unscathed. At the same time, Quaritch will continue to embrace his dark side and move further away from his chance at redemption. Though the Ash People will be new antagonists, it seems pretty clear that Quaritch will remain the core villain of the Avatar franchise.
