As James Cameron prepares to unveil the next chapter of his monumental Avatar saga, global anticipation is rising. Fans around the world are looking forward to returning to Pandora, eager to see how its cultures, conflicts, and clans evolve in Avatar: The Fire and the Ashes. One of the most interesting additions is Verang, the formidable new leader of the Fire Clan, brought to life by Oona Chaplin.
Una Chaplin on playing the warang
For Oona Chaplin, Varang was never a one-note opponent. Instead, he approached her as a woman driven by trauma, isolation, and an unwavering sense of principle. “I never saw her as a villain, and I don’t think you say that either, you’re not a villain, you know, it’s a little complicated, but I think both of these characters are also very principled. For me, you know, it was a great revelation to have a conversation with Jim on this topic where she tells a little bit about her biography, her kind of origin story, why she is the way she is.”
He continued, “And I felt like she’s actually a very human character, because the depth of trauma comes from being separated from connection to nature, which, you know, everyone here understands what that feels like, even if we’ve forgotten what that feels like, but, you know all this, that disconnection breeds conflict.”
Oona Chaplin Explains Varang’s POV
Chaplin explains that this disconnect shapes Varang’s entire worldview. “That’s really the source of all conflict, isolation, and thinking that you’re different in some way. And so that passage, I loved, is very easy to connect to, and it’s really smart to have it in Pandora, because it shows us that these themes are universal, you know, that you can go to something far away from the moon and … and see the consequences of that pain that hasn’t been healed,” she said.
Also Read: Avatar: Fire and Ash first review: Fans laud third installment, say ‘it beats everything that came before it’
He described Varang as someone who carries anger rooted in deep, unresolved grief, a pain that continues to fuel his actions. Instead of running away from her fear, Varang runs straight towards them. Chaplin said that this instinct is, in many ways, correct, as Varang knows that he must face the thing that scares him. In an ideal world, she would approach it with a desire to heal those fears. Instead, she chooses destruction, a path that ultimately casts her as the villain in the story.
Nevertheless, Chaplin said that she had great respect for the character. To them, Varang is a remarkable leader and a true hero of his people. In Chaplin’s eyes, Verang is no less than a revolutionary.
The arrival of the Varang expands the cultural landscape of Pandora, introducing a clan built on flame, discipline, and spiritual renewal.
20th Century Studios released Avatar: Fire and Ash in Indian theaters on December 19 in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.