TV & Movies

Avatar: Fire and Ash stars explain their “domination and submission” relationship

byEammon Parks Jacobs
An image of two blue aliens. The male alien on the left has a dark hair in a buzz cut with one thick braid over his shoulder. The woman is stood in front of him wearing a red and black headdress. She has her back to the camera.20th Century Studios

James Cameron’s epic science-fiction saga might focus on Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) but Avatar: Fire and Ash spotlights a spicy relationship between Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and Varang (Oona Chaplin) the leader of the Ash people. Ahead of the movie’s release, the actors told Dexerto how their dynamic thrives on “domination and submission.”

The threequel sees the Sully family fight harder than ever to protect Pandora from the Resources Development Administration, which is determined to colonize the planet and strip it for the minerals and chemicals for humanity’s benefit.

But the lines between the RDA and the Na’vi start to blur when Quaritch partners up with Varang after seeing how much of a threat she and the Mangkwan people are to the Sullys. Verang and her people have made (you guessed it) fire and ash into a large part of their culture, which makes them an intense group of warriors.

But that fiery nature extends into the relationship between Quaritch and Varang, and the actors told Dexerto why this dysfunctional couple work so well together.

Stephen Lang says “a snarl is as good as a kiss” in Avatar: Fire and Ash

An image of two blue aliens. The male alien on the left has a dark hair in a buzz cut with one thick braid over his shoulder, he has his back to the camera. The woman is stood in front of him wearing a red and black headdress.20th Century Studios

Stephen Lang and Oona Chaplin explained the feisty connection between Quaritch and Varang, with Lang pointing out how “antagonism is really a wonderful source of affection and love,” suggesting that the pair may fight before they settle on a beneficial dynamic that helps the Mangkwan and the RDA.

He continued: “It’s the way people are, and in that respect it’s possible that we resemble other creatures as well, for whom a snarl is as good as a kiss, it seems to me. But these two characters recognize kindred spirits, and there’s a chemical reaction that goes on between them, and they both have their own agendas.”

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The Don’t Breathe and Sisu star also noted how there’s “a certain quality of manipulation” between the couple, but there’s a large element “that has to do with domination and submission, and it’s like a snarl is as good as a kiss. Things get really wild in that yurt, baby.”

Chaplin, however, dove further into Varang’s psyche to discuss how her lust for control comes from “a place of having felt so disempowered by this volcano that destroyed her world, so she’s constantly wanting to have control and power over her life because she felt very scared and out of control at a very significant moment.”

The star continued: “She’s constantly holding on to power and so there’s different ways she uses her sexuality as a form of power. Obviously she has the [neural] queue mind-control-zapping-thing, you know, so she’s always looking for power. That was the big thing.”

Until we see how Quaritch and Varang’s relationship shapes Pandora, see what Sigourney Weaver says about Avatar 4 and 5, learn about James Cameron’s stance on AI actors, and take a look at what Avatar: Fire and Ash means.