Avatar 3 villain revealed: Game of Thrones' Oona Chaplin to go up against Jake Sully

Avatar 3 is all set to introduce an entire villainous clan of Na’vi people. While the first film in the franchise only had one big bad, The Way of Water needed something bigger. Therefore, along with bringing Quaritch back with an upgrade, James Cameron added two other smaller villains to support him. However, the next installment in the franchise will reportedly have even bigger villains.

So far, the Avatar film series has only given us human villains, but things are going to change as bad Na’vi will come into the mix. Just as the MCU introduced the viewers to good Skrulls with Captain Marvel and will further feature the bad ones with Secret Invasion, the Avatar franchise is bringing the antagonistic Na’vi characters as the next big bad villains!

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Oona Chaplin will play the leader of the Ash people in Avatar 3

Ash people in Avatar: The Seed Bearer concept art (Image via 20th Century Studios)

Director James Cameron took part in an interview with the French newspaper 20 minutes where he revealed that he would reinvent the wheel and introduce audiences to the “Ash people.” They belong to the fiery surroundings of a volcanic biome, as Cameron said:

"Different cultures from those I have already shown. The fire will be represented by the 'Ash People.'"

He further explained how he wants to present the Na’vi in a negative light for a change:

"I want to show the Na’vi in a different light because, so far, I have only shown their good sides. In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite."

In Avatar: The Way of Water, the Metkayina clan was the unique selling point. Now, the Ash people will be the USP of Avatar 3. Since the movie has already been filmed, the actors for the Ash people have already been cast.

Oona Chaplin in Avatar The Seed Bearer (Image via Sportskeeda)

As such, three new actors, namely Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, and Michelle Yeoh will make their debut in Avatar: The Seed Bearer. Moreover, producer John Landau revealed that Game of Thrones actress Oona Chaplin will play the leader of the Ash people, Varang. While speaking with EMPIRE magazine, he also confirmed that the Na'vi Ash People tribes will exist in Pandora's more volcanic regions.

Landau further explained the dynamics of the Fire tribe, stating:

"There are good humans, and there are bad humans - the same thing on the Navi side - but oftentimes, people don't see themselves as bad. What is the root cause of how they evolve into what we perceive as bad? Maybe there are other factors there that we're not aware of."

Evidently, the plan is to turn the Ash people into antagonists. It's possible that Quaritch will also join this clan and learn the way of fire, just like Jake learned the way of water.

However, it will also be interesting to see the motivation that this clan has for going up against the Metkayina since one can’t be evil just for the sake of being evil.

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Avatar 3 sees Oona Chaplin join the ensemble cast alongside David Thewlis and Michelle Yeoh

Avatar 2 characters (Image via 20th Century Studios)

Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully is set to return alongside Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri, Jake Champion’s Spider, Sigourney Weaver's Kiri, and Stephen Lang’s Recom Quaritch. The actors will be joined by cast members Britain Dalton (Lo’ak), Trinity Jo-Li Bliss’ (Tuk), Cliff Curtis’ (Tonowari), Kate Winslet’s (Ronal), Bailey Bass’ (Tsireya), and Filip Geljo’s (Aonung).

Vin Diesel was believed to star in Avatar 3, but it is now confirmed that he just visited the set as a fan for a day. However, alongside Oona Chaplin debuting as the Fire clan leader Varang in Avatar 3, she’d be accompanied by Hollywood heavyweights such as David Thewlis and Michelle Yeoh.

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Avatar: The Seed Bearer is set to release on December 20, 2024.