With the previous installment leaving him once again having to regroup his fighting efforts, Stephen Lang teases what’s to come from Quaritch’s journey in Avatar: Fire and Ash. Lang is one of many franchise vets who are set to return for the threequel, with others including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder and Kate Winslet, among many others. Though plot details are being kept under wraps, it is known that Avatar: Fire and Ash‘s story will introduce the new Na’vi tribe, the Ash Clan, said to be more antagonistic than the Omatikaya and Metkayina.

Now, during a recent interview with ScreenRant to discuss his historical drama House of David, Lang was asked about how Avatar: Fire and Ash would expand Quaritch’s journey. Though he was careful not to say anything specific to avoid getting in trouble, he did tease that the iconic villain’s return would come with “bumps and pitfalls“ and that his ongoing evolution won’t be “a straight journey“. Check out what Lang shared below:

Well, I really can’t say too much. My journey, the journey of Quaritch, will continue. It’s not a straight journey, it’s going to have bumps and pitfalls. This is my way of saying nothing, of course, you understand that. [Chuckles] What I can say is that there’s a fundamental Quaritchness that I think will always be there. No matter what he goes through, no matter what happens, he will always be recognizably Colonel Miles Quarritch, unless he’s not. But he’s going to go through a whole bunch of stuff.

What This Means For Quaritch’s Avatar: Fire & Ash Story

The Antagonist May Have Multiple Threats Going Into The Threequel

While much of the first Avatar painted him as a war-hungry military figure, The Way of Water sought to offer Quaritch a little more depth with the introduction of Jack Champion’s Spider, his son who had since been adopted and raised by the Sully family in the ways of the Na’vi. Though he still intended to use his son in an effort to also learn of the Metkayina’s whereabouts, and other information that could provide the Resources Development Administration with strategic information, it did seem like Quaritch had regained some of his humanity by spending time with Spider.

As such, with Avatar: The Way of Water ending with Spider saving his father from drowning, only to subsequently abandon him in order to rejoin the Sully family, Quaritch once again finds himself without that anchor to the better part of himself. The fact that his son would rather live with the family who has killed him once and defeated him another time is sure to further incite the rage building within him, as will the likely reprimanding to come from his RDA bosses, who are disappointed by his continued failure to claim key resources from the planet.

Another major force Quaritch will likely have to contend with is the Ash Clan upon their introduction in Avatar: Fire and Ash. While still being kept largely under wraps, they have been described as being a volcano-dwelling tribe who have endured a lot of hardship, though it has been left a mystery as to whether that’s from invading human forces or one of the other Na’vi clans populating Pandora. Considering it’s also said the Ash Clan are willing to do anything to protect their people, they could prove an even more formidable foe, or even ally, for Quaritch.

Our Take On Quaritch’s Avatar: Fire & Ash Journey

New Layers Need To Be Unlocked For Lang’s Character

Given Lang is pretty careful about what he shared, there’s certainly a lot of speculation that could be taken regarding Quaritch’s Avatar: Fire and Ash story. That being said, I think the most important thing to hold onto is his tease that the iconic villain will “go through a whole bunch of stuff,” which will hopefully lead to new sides of the character being shown to viewers, as it would be disappointing for him to essentially stagnate, in spite of a five-movie plan from James Cameron.