Summary
While Stephen Lang’s role as theAvatarfranchise villain Quaritch is a career-defining part, he ironically played the exact opposite character decades earlier. ByAvatar: The Way of Water’s ending, it was clear who the central villain of James Cameron’s sci-fi franchise was. Although the RDA and Earth’s corporations more broadly were to blame for Pandora’s colonization, there was one face who came to represent the violent attacks on the Na’vi. Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch, inAvatar’s human form andAvatar: The Way of Water’s recombinant form, was the walking embodiment of humanity’s most violent colonial efforts.
Lang’s villain is a fascinating figure and, since his son Spider saved him inAvatar: The Way of Water’s climax, one thatAvatar 3’s storycould explore further. Quaritch is endlessly loyal to his fellow marines and is well-liked by them, but his vehement belief in the colonial project makes him inhumanly cruel. He jeers at the RDA’s reliance on technology and is often impressed by the Na’vi’s guerrilla tactics, but he still fails to see the natives of Pandora as his equals. Lang lends Quaritch humanity, but the villain never seems conflicted about his evil deeds.
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Stephen Lang Played The Exact Opposite Of Avatar’s Quaritch In Tall Tale
This 1995 Family Film Focused On The Old West
What makes this role so fascinating is the fact thatStephen Lang played the exact opposite ofAvatar’s Quaritch in 1995’sTall Tale. In this underrated family film, Lang played a hard-working farmer who was forced off his land so that greedy developers could mine it for resources. This is the exact thing that Quaritch tries to make the Na’vi do inAvatarand, like Pandora’s natives,Tall Tale’s hero Daniel Hackett eventually gets the courage to stand up to them. InTall Tale, Daniel develops his plan with help from Old West heroes like Paul Bunyan.
Tall Taleis available to stream on Disney+ and Amazon Home Video
WhileTall Tale’s semi-fantastical Western story doesn’t share the same genre asAvatar, its plot is strikingly similar given Lang’s later role. Lang plays Jonas Hackett, a humble farmer who is bullied off his land by developers. Like theAvatarfranchise’s Colonel Quaritch, the developer JP Stiles sees nothing wrong with shooting Jonas when he refuses to give up his land quietly. When Jonas’s injuries leave him unable to farm, his young son Daniel must protect their home from these villains. Daniel is aided by Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and John Henry, stars of the titular traditional American folk legends.
Tall Tale’s Story Makes Stephen Lang’s Avatar Villain Role Very Ironic
Stephen Lang’s Two Roles Couldn’t Be More Different
What makes Lang’s roles in bothAvatar’s story andTall Tale’s plot so ironic is that the two movies are both similar and opposite in numerous areas. Both movies have a younger hero who Lang’s character mentors (his son inTall Tale, Jake inAvatar), and both of these heroes eventually defeat the miners in the end. The difference is thattheAvatarfranchise’s Jake Sullyswitches sides and ends up facing off against Quaritch before Neytiri kills the villain. In contrast, Daniel saves his father, their farm, and his town with the help of the folk heroes from theAvataractor’s tall tales.
