What happens to Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash? Character's fate explained

James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third movie in the Avatar series, was released on December 19, 2025. With this installment, the action returns to Pandora’s moon, where Jake Sully and his family face new threats from the RDA, a human-run group. At the same time, new perils arise within the Na’vi community. While old enemies reappear, internal conflicts begin to surface.

The story broadens, introducing new landscapes, traditions, and difficult choices, shifting toward a grittier tone. Instead of remaining isolated, Jake and Neytiri work to unite the Na’vi groups to stand up to the off-worlders. At the same time, Colonel Miles Quaritch reappears, now with an inner struggle.

Tension rises when the Ash People appear, a clan marked by sorrow and ruin, who decide to side with humans under their leaders' guidance. One key question in the movie focuses on Varang, head of the Ash People.

Even though she opposes the main characters and fights fiercely throughout Avatar: Fire and Ash, she survives. The final clash ends without her death; instead, others choose to let her go. This sets up room for her return later in the series.

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Who is Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash?

Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash (Image via Avatar)

Varang leads the Ash People, a Na’vi group shaped by ecological collapse, suffering, and ongoing tragedy. Played by Oona Chaplin, she carries herself with intensity; her rule is grounded in discipline and prioritizes practical ways to endure.

Varang differs from other Na’vi leaders seen so far as she values power over peace. By choosing to work alongside humans, she sets herself apart, making her one of the series's more ethically ambiguous figures.

Her choices aren't shown as random acts of harshness; rather, they stem from personal history and shared suffering. By using Varang, the film deepens its look at rifts among the Na’vi, suggesting that unity across Pandora's native groups isn't driven by a single fixed doctrine.

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Varang’s current situation in Avatar: Fire and Ash

Varang serves as a key representation of internal Na’vi conflict throughout Fire and Ash. Her alliance with the RDA gives the Sky People a strategic advantage and undermines Jake Sully’s efforts to unify Pandora’s clans. Rather than serving solely as a secondary villain, Varang embodies the long-term consequences of displacement, environmental destruction, and unresolved trauma.

Her role reaches a high point in the movie’s final clash, as she faces Neytiri one-on-one. At first, Varang takes control, showing she's skilled and threatening in battle. But once Kiri steps in, using her growing bond with Eywa, the momentum shifts unexpectedly.

After her defeat, Varang is not executed. Neytiri and Kiri decide to spare her, so she withdraws from combat. When the movie ends, Varang is still alive, her path ahead unclear. In Avatar: Fire and Ash, it’s clear that she lives on. Even after losing the fight, she remains unharmed and at liberty, her story open to what comes next.

Her survival highlights themes of choice, self-control, and the aftermath of battle. Because Varang remains involved as Pandora faces ongoing social and political strains, Fire and Ash sets up further looks at rifts within the Na’vi as the Avatar story grows.

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Also read: All three confirmed trailers attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash, explained.

Edited by Shreya Das