Avatar: Fire and Ash unveils Varang - First look at new character

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third installment in the epic science fiction action franchise and a sequel to 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water. The film will be released on December 19, 2025, by 20th Century Studios. Here is the official synopsis as per Letterboxd,

In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na’vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang. Jake’s family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.

The makers have recently released the first look of Varang.

First look of Varang from Avatar: Fire and Ash revealed

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Recently, the creators of Avatar: Fire and Ash released the first look at Varang, a character played by Oona Chaplin. She leads the clans of the Ash people in Na'vi, who reside near the volcano. The character and her clan serve as the film's antagonists. In the first look, we see a close-up of Varang's painted face with embers glowing in the background.

In an Empire interview, James Cameron said,

"Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She's hardened by that. She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil. One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic. Or blue-and-pink simplistic. … We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm."

The director further said that the character is an antagonist of the story.

"She’s an enemy, an adversarial character, but [Chaplin] makes her feel so real and alive."

The first trailer of the film is expected to be released with the prints of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is directed by James Cameron, who has also produced it with the late Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. The screenplay is written by Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, while the trio has penned the story with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Here is a list of its cast members:

Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri
Sigourney Weaver as Kiri
Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch
Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge
Kate Winslet as Ronal
Cliff Curtis as Tonowari
Joel David Moore as Dr. Norm Spellman
CCH Pounder as Mo'at
Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore
Brendan Cowell as Captain Mick Scoresby

The Shooting of Avatar: Fire and Ash took place simultaneously with The Way of Water for around three years. Over the years, its release date has been pushed nine times before the makers narrowed in on the current one. There are two more sequels in the franchise, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, which are slated to be released in 2029 and 2031, respectively.

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