Avatar 3: Stephen Lang Says Quaritch Isn’t Who You Think He Is

Stephen Lang has spent a chunk of his career playing big, chest-thumping guys, so it would be easy to lump his Avatar villain, Quaritch, into that same bucket. But off camera, Lang is very much not selling any alpha-bro mythology. And on camera, he says Quaritch is more complicated than people give him credit for.

Lang on masculinity: the roles are loud, the man isn’t

Talking with EW, Lang drew a bright line between the characters he loves to play and the person he is at home. He’s not here to prop up some peacocking brand of masculinity, even if he’s really good at portraying it.

"I left the man club some years ago... I have no interest in promoting some idea of masculinity that is either aggressive or more important than anyone else."

He enjoys the work and the archetypes, but he doesn’t want to be filed under lunkhead male. He also said he’s fine being typed as long as the part is worth it, and he’s leaning into older roles now — happily: he joked he doesn’t mind getting old; he just wants to stay old for a really long time.

So what does that mean for Quaritch?

Lang pushed back on the idea that Quaritch equals toxic masculinity and called out how the character respects the women around him. That includes Neytiri — or, as he puts it, Mrs. Sully — and Quaritch’s former partner, who is Spider’s mother. In Avatar 3, the script gives him more than just bark and bullets.

• He recognizes Neytiri as a legitimate, dangerous opponent, not someone to be dismissed.
• He’s had tough women in his orbit before — his ex (Spider’s mom) wasn’t exactly a pushover.
• Fire & Ash adds vulnerability to the guy: there’s a surprising emotional thread with Varang, leader of the Ash clan, that softens some edges without pretending he’s not a villain.

Spoilers ahead for Avatar: Fire & Ash

By the end of the third movie, Quaritch takes a tumble that looks final, but we never actually see a body. Given this franchise already resurrected him once, you can see why fans are squinting at the screen and waiting for the other boot to drop. When ComicBook asked Lang point-blank about that ambiguous exit, he didn’t exactly clarify things.

"The line that I don’t say when I take that is 'F**k it' because that’s really what it is. It’s a 'F**k it' moment. This is too confusing and complex for me. I’ve done plenty. I really won’t say more than that about it."

Will he show up in Avatar 4?

Lang says he isn’t a huge sequels guy, but if James Cameron has proved anything, it’s that he loves finding new ways to bring Quaritch back. If Avatar 4 moves forward, there’s a decent chance we haven’t seen the last of him. The bigger question is what version returns: the unbending soldier, or the one teased in Fire & Ash who might be inching toward something like redemption.

Avatar: Fire & Ash is in theaters now. Thoughts on Lang’s take, and do you want Quaritch back for round four?