Colonel Quaritch — also dead at the end of “Avatar,” and effectively revived when he becomes a Na’vi Recombinant — suffers a handy defeat at the end of “Avatar: The Way of Water.” In fact, save for Lyle Wainfleet, every member of his squad of Na’vi Recombinants is confirmed dead by the end of the second Avatar film. Quaritch himself, however, survives.
In a 2017 interview with Empire, about two-thirds of the way between the first and second Avatar movies, James Cameron announced that Quartich will remain his franchise’s main antagonist through all five planned entries. “The Way of Water,” notably, establishes a complex relationship between the colonel and his benevolent son Spider (Jack Champion), which should color his character moving forward.
That said, the confirmation that Matt Gerald’s Wainfleet is returning in “Avatar 3” provides some further insight into Quartich’s expected character arc. Wainfleet — lacking any sort of familial connection to his Na’vi enemies — will likely serve as Spider’s opposite, pulling Quaritch away from the human compassion he feels for his son and toward violence.
