Avatar: The Way of Water continues the story of Jake Sully, Neytiri, and the family they've built since the events of Avatar on Pandora. When humans return to Pandora as an even more dangerous threat than before, Jake Sully and Neytiri must find a way to protect the family they love. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña reprise their roles as Jake and Neytiri, respectively, while Sigourney Weaver is playing an entirely new character Kiri the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri.
Stephen Lang, whose character was killed in the final battle of Avatar, returns in the new movie playing a Recombinant version of Colonel Miles Quaritch. Recombinants are a new breed of Na'vi Avatar with people's memories embedded in them. Quartich was the driving force behind RDA's attack against the Na'vi in Avatar and will likely be a dangerous threat once again, especially for the Sully family after Jake defected to the Na'vi and Neytiri killed him.
Screen Rant spoke with Stephen Lang about returning to Avatar: The Way of Water. Lang teased how he can return to play a slightly different version of his character, Colonel Miles Quaritch, following his death in the first movie. He also shared the added challenges of performing fight scenes underwater.
Stephen Lang on Avatar: The Way of Water
Screen Rant: Mr. Lang, amazing job on this film. It's been over a decade since you've played this role, or I guess it's a kind of different role here. What did you want to bring from your own personal experience and professional experience to infuse into the role?
Stephen Lang: Well, I guess it's a good question. I think that I wanted to honor the fact that Jim Cameron thought enough of this role that he wanted it to expand and develop. I think you're accurate when you say it's not quite the same role, but obviously it's intimately connected to it.
I think I'm bringing my own wealth of the experience that I've had over the past many, many years working in movies and in the theater, and trying to keep it simple. As I get older as an actor, it's really all about keeping it honest, keeping it as simple as possible.
The core of this film is really about family. What does that mean to Colonel Quaritch, and how does he relate to that?
Stephen Lang: Well, it's certainly not a theme that he spends a lot of time dwelling on. Quaritch has pretty much existed within his own bubble for a long time. Of course if you ask Quaritch who his family is, he would say the Jarhead clan is his family, is the brothers and sisters who make up his battalion.
That really would be his family, but I understand that the question actually goes deeper than that, and that Quaritch does have some connections. What those connections are and how those connections operate within him, it's interesting. I mean, it's part of what makes playing the character kind of mysterious and exciting for me to try to figure out how he feels about things.
What can you tell me about the Recoms? Can you talk to me about the challenges of acting with a tail and the different things that Na'vi have?
Stephen Lang: We try to bring the essence of the Marine, the kind of attitude. It's funny. It's related to in the first film when original Quaritch says, "Ohh, a marine kind of attitude in a Na'vi body. That's potent, give me the goosebumps." That's what he says, and that in fact is what happens in this, so it's wonderful in that sense.
I think that Quaritch realizes the important thing is that you got to go native, because working the way we worked in the first film didn't bring about good results, it ended up with two big arrows in the chest. So rather than bring that world to me, I think it's time that we need to bring ourselves to that world and adapt. It's either adapt or perish, and that's what we do.
James Cameron is on the cutting edge of filmmaking It honestly looks like it's shot on a different planet. Can you talk to me about the process of the water capture and the free diving and the virtual cameras?
Stephen Lang: Mm-hmm. I can talk about the experience of doing it, but if you want to get into the particular technology, you got the wrong guy here, brother. But it's challenging. I mean, I think playing those scenes, for example, Sam and I have fight scenes underwater. Those scenes are challenging enough when you're on dry land, and to do them underwater when you're holding your breath, that's a whole different set of complex and difficult circumstances.
But that's what we're dealing with, so that's what you do. So we trained hard, and then when you get that all kind of set, and you know what you have to do, just take that big breath and relax. Relax and do it, and that's the way it kind of works. I mean, it was challenging and fun in a really, really brutal way.
About Avatar: The Way of Water
Over a decade after the events of Avatar Jake Sully and Neytiri are living on Pandora with their family leading their people. However, when a familiar threat returns to restart a war they thought had ended years ago they must once again work together to protect their planet, their people, but most importantly their family.
Check out our other Avatar: The Way Of Water interviews here:
- James Cameron
- Zoe Saldaña & Sam Worthington
- Sigourney Weaver
- Kate Winslet
- Jack Champion & Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
- Jamie Flatters & Bailey Bass
- Jon Landau
Avatar: The Way of Water will be playing in theaters on December 16.
