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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Avatar: Fire & Ash
Avatar: Fire & Ash’s villains were all kinds of threatening and emotionally dynamic, with Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and Varang (Oona Chaplin) serving as the movie’s two primary antagonists. That said, I’m fascinated to learn more about the even bigger foe that was teased for Avatar 4 and 5.
In the Avatar franchise, the massive company and private militia known as the RDA is packed with corrupt humans seeking to destroy the whole of Pandora for profit. However, Avatar: Fire & Ash just teased one of its most important members who could very well have a major role in James Cameron’s future sequels.
Quaritch & Varang Were The Ultimate Villain Power Couple in Fire & Ash
In Fire & Ash, Quaritch and Varang were established as a darkly captivating villain pairing. Mirroring the journey of Jake Sully from the first Avatar movie, Quaritch becomes more embedded in Na’vi culture than ever before. It’s still in the interests of the RDA, while also allying himself with a fire-obsessed clan that openly rejects Ewya, Pandora’s spiritual deity.
Varang particularly stands out as a fascinating new villain. Her rejection of Eywa and leadership of the Ash People offers a darker Na’vi worldview that the franchise has never truly seen before. While the opportunity exists for both Quaritch and Varang to return in future Avatar movies, I’m very intrigued after Fire & Ash teased a major new face from the RDA.
Will We Finally Meet The RDA’s President In Avatar 4 & 5?
Avatar: Fire & Ash sets up a villain the franchise has never directly shown: The President of the RDA. Thanks to canonical materials outside the movies, we know the President is the father of Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), which General Ardmore (Edie Falco) confirms on-screen for the first time in Fire & Ash.
This explains Parker’s return to Pandora after being sent back to Earth at the end of 2009’s Avatar, as he most likely received a rare second chance (presumably due to his status as a major nepo baby). As a result, this recontextualizes Parker’s motivations as Administrator of Hell’s Gate on Pandora, as he must be desperate to prove himself to The President (his dad).
With Parker having failed a second time by losing Spider without being able to replicate his Ewya-given ability to breathe Pandora’s air (not to mention a massive loss in RDA assets by the movie’s end), it would make sense for the RDA’s President to have a more direct and involved role in future Avatar movies, having run out of chances to give his son.
Whether Avatar 4 and 5 return to Earth or The President makes the long journey and comes to Pandora himself, Avatar fans should probably expect to finally see the big bad boss of the “Sky People” finally debut on screen in the future.
James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire & Ash is now playing in theaters.
- Release Date
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December 19, 2025
- Runtime
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197 Minutes
- Writers
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Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, James Cameron, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno
- Producers
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Jon Landau, James Cameron, Brigitte Yorke, Jamie Landau, Maria Battle-Campbell