Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Disney, Fox, Movies | Tagged: avatar 2, Avatar: The Way Of Water, avatra, stephen lang

Stephen Lang & James Cameron on Colonel Quaritch's Return in Avatar 2

How Stephen Lang returns as Colonel Quaritch in Avatar: The Way Of Water after his gruesome death in the first Avatar movie has been a much-discussed development. While the trailers have done a very good job of not spoiling much, this conversation does contain some very minor spoilers that, if you've been paying attention at all, you would have figured it out. Both Lang and director James Cameron discuss this minor spoiler.

During the worldwide press conference with BBC Radio One DJ Edith Bowman asked Lang about Colonel Quaritch's return to the movie. "Stephen, he's back. He's back. In a different, in a different way, but he's back. How was that for you to… to play this character this way?" Stephen replied, "Oh, it was very exciting to come back, and it was; I was just so honoured to be able to deepen and expand on the vision that Jim had for this character. I think in the first film he's very, very colourful; he's got personality, he's got some great qualities. But essentially, he moves through like a mindless shark, in a way. But in this iteration of it, first of all, there's the absolute magnificent irony that Jim has written of coming back as the very thing he has been trying to destroy.

"And having to make the adjustment to that, to adapt to that," Lang continued. "And I think it's just, it's been a… it was a total pleasure for me to continue to massage this character and find the depth, and maybe some of the humanity that's in him. He's such a warm character and beloved by so many… (Laughter) You should stop me." And as for the demands of the part, "Well sure, I mean, it's a… it kind of calls on… you feel, I felt very responsible, that I'd better get this right, you know? Because, for all intents and purposes, I thought I might be gone. But I just wanted to do the best I could fulfill the expectations of the role, I thought, of the big bad. Yeah. "

James Cameron also pointed out, "I just want to shout out that Stephen is also a screenwriter, very accomplished, and he actually brought ideas that I was able to incorporate in the writing phase; we have a kind of a shorthand that way. Like when he finds his own remains in the forest, that was actually Stephen's suggestion. So you know, I'm… good ideas, you know, I'm open to anything." Producer Jon Landau interjected, saying, "Spoiler alert, spoiler alert" to Cameron's riposte, "It's in act one, come on, it's in the trailer. You know?" I'm with Cameron. And especially now, it's in the transcript…

And, for that matter, on the posters too…

Avatar: The Way Of Water is on general release now. It's glorious, and see it in 3D on the biggest screen you can.

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