Avatar: The Way of Water Col. Quaritch’s Return Explained

20th Century Studios is getting ready to release their highly anticipated sequel to 2009’s record-breaking blockbuster Avatar with Avatar: The Way of Water, and it’s expected to have the same effect as the original. The Way of Water already has a lot going for it, with the critical consensus lauding the visual spectacle and box office projections expecting the film to break half a billion worldwide during its opening weekend. James Cameron is back at the helm and he still has a few tricks up his sleeve, like bringing back some unexpected cast members for the sequel like Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. Both of their characters perished at the end of the first film, and the director has found some pretty cool ways to bring them back for Avatar: The Way of Water. Weaver has already explained how she returns in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com and now that the movie has hit theaters, we can tell you how Lang returns as Col. Quaritch.

How Does Col. Quaritch return in Avatar: The Way of Water?

It was revealed that Stephen Lang would be returning in Avatar: The Way of Water when the official cast was announced for the film even though his character Colonel Quaritch perished at the hands of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) at the end of the first film. Cameron has been pretty quiet about how the character actually returns in the sequel, but when you watch the film it’s pretty simple. After his death, Quaritch transferred all of his memories into the body of an Avatar and became the thing he hates the most. When he awakes in his new body, he’s greeted by a video from his former self that explains the situation and instructs him to go after Jake Sully (Sam Worthington).

James Cameron Shot Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar 3 Back to Back

Cameron has been developing sequels to his record-breaking film for over a decade. The studio has announced four sequels to Avatar, with two already filmed, and the other two are waiting to see how the first does at the box office. The director shot both sequels back to back due to how the scenes they needed to film for both. About a year ago, Cameron confirmed to Variety why he shot the films this way.

“We mixed the schedules for 2 and 3 together, based on the types of scenes and the environments,” Cameron revealed to the trade. “I said, let’s just treat it like it’s a six-hour miniseries and we’re only going to go to Frankfurt once. We’re going to shoot all the scenes from 2 and 3 at the same time. That was more or less the motif. Actor availability was an issue as well. Anything that had to be done with a specific actor, we did all the scenes for 2 and 3 together — and a little bit of 4. Because once again, I had to shoot the kids out. They’re allowed to age six years in the middle of the story on page 25 of movie 4. So I needed everything before then, and then everything after, we’ll do later.”

The sequel is confirmed to feature several returning stars that include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stepehn Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver. The cast for the sequels will include several more newcomers than returning members, though, with the likes of Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones all set to appear as well. Plot details for the sequels are currently unknown.

Avatar: The Way of Water is set to arrive on December 16, 2022, with Avatar 3 set to debut two years later on December 20, 2024.

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