Exclusive: Stephen Lang Talks Getting Swole for Avatar Sequels

One of the many intriguing aspects of James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar films revolves around Stephen Lang’s evil Miles Quaritch, who was last seen taking his final breath after suffering death by big-ass arrow. Yet, Cameron has revealed the character will serve as the big bad villain in all four of the sequels, which raises so many questions. The first being: will we get to see more of Lang’s hulking physique in the follow up films?

“Well, I did not need to get quite as big,” Lang said during an exclusive interview with ComingSoon.net in which he discussed his upcoming horror film The Seventh Day. “I was really big in that first one. In the new films I’m leaner — I am leaner, there’s no question, but just as defined. That’s the deal.”

Ok, so what does this mean? At the very least it confirms we’ll see the character return in his human form and not as some sort of Pandora spirit. Or, maybe he’ll returns as a bulked up Na’vi capable of commanding legions of Leonopteryx … just spit balling here.

Even more pressing, how will Quaritch remain interesting to audiences over a four-film stretch?

“I’m not gonna say, ‘No, he’s absolutely the same,’” Lang said. “I think he’s an incredibly fascinating character and he wouldn’t be back if Jim Cameron wasn’t fascinated in him as well and kind of bent on seeing where he goes. Where does that character lead him as a writer, as a director? And where does it lead me as an actor? And so, I think you can absolutely look for some areas of extreme growth in the character; and then probably areas of regression in the character as well, hopefully, over a period of four more films. Of course, we need him to be very, very interesting, where, by the end you’ve taken a journey, or you’ve witnessed a character go on a life journey that was pretty interesting. You know, that you were glad that you could observe. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Ambiguous, but also interesting. Imagine if Quaritch ultimately becomes one with the world of Pandora and ultimately becomes its savior … There are certainly plenty of directions Cameron and Lang can take the character.

Good thing we only have to wait until December 16, 2022 — 13 years after the original — to see how his story plays out. Oye.

The new cast of the upcoming Avatar sequels includes Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, Jemaine Clement and Oona Chaplin alongside a slate of young actors. Returning cast members include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, Matt Gerald and Sigourney Weaver.

Cameron has confirmed that Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch is coming back for all four sequels and will be the main villain throughout the story. Filming officially started on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 on September 25, 2017.

After some shuffling of the schedule, Avatar 2 has been pushed back a full year from December 17, 2021 to December 22, 2022. While Avatar 3 has been pushed back from December 22, 2023 to December 2024 with Avatar 4 to open two years after that on December 18, 2026 (originally December 2025) and Avatar 5 will drop on December 22, 2028 (originally December 17, 2027). Although Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will only be released with director James Cameron’s caveat that Avatar 2 and 3 are successful at the box office.