Varang and her clan suffered immensely when their home was hit by a natural disaster, after a volcanic fire destroyed their forest and left their Hometree in soot. Varang was a little girl when this incident occurred.[2]
After this tragic incident, Varang and her clan members, such as her trusted warrior Riku, decided to stop honoring Eywa, and even began to question and resent the goddess of the Na'vi. She rose up to guide the Mangkwan out of their intense misery, including starvation, and she became a hero of her people who effectively worship her and treat her like a queen. Despite this, her people were left with unresolved trauma, and a dark and hostile perspective towards other Na'vi and the rest of Pandora.
At some point, Varang got into body modification as her body has dozens of circular skin marks, seen on her eyebrow area, her nose bridge, above her breasts, and along her mid-section. She also has a mysterious tattoo of an eye on her right palm, as seen in this image.
At some point, she will meet Miles Quaritch and face Kiri before telling her that her goddess (Eywa) holds no dominion. She is also seen wielding an FT-M3A1 Flamethrower as she faces off against Neytiri.
Personality[]
Varang guiding her clan.
Varang has been described as the leader of people who have gone through enormous hardship, resulting in her being strong and hardened. She will do anything for them, even actions considered to be evil. She is also said to accept those who have murdered Na'vi into her clan. She is also seen claiming fire is the "only pure thing" on Pandora.
According to James Cameron, Varang is "going down the dark path of being a shaman, being a Tsahìk. She sought out the dark version of those arts and trained herself. She actually has this kind of mind domination capability and pain infliction capability. It allows her to harness the truth from anyone."
Unlike other Na'vi, Varang does not follow Eywa, nor does she care about submitting to the Three Laws of Eywa.[3] Therefore, it is shown that she and her clans are far more willing to use advanced human technology for their advantages than most Na'vi.
Abilities[]
Varang using flaming arrows.
Varang has the ability to ride a nightwraith. She is also seen touching fire, and she wields a bow that is equipped with flaming arrows. She also uses an FT-M3A1 Flamethrower, and seems to possess a unique version of Dual Blades as her weapon.
Memorable Quotes[]
„This is the only pure thing in this world. The fire came from the mountain, burnt our forest. My people cried for help, but Eywa did not come.“
„Good trick... Quaritch.“
Trivia[]
The Fire and Ash teaser poster.
The first teaser poster for Fire and Ash was a close-up of her face, similar to Neytiri for the first film and Kiri for The Way of Water.
It was stated that Neytiri will "meet her match" in Varang, who could be seen as the anti-Neytiri, anti-Eywa and Neytiri's foil. Both Na'vi women lost their Hometrees. However, unlike Neytiri who turned to heal in Eywa, Varang essentially went "fuck Eywa" according to Chaplin. This is also similar to how after experiencing grief, humans are often faced with a dilemma that can strengthen their faith in God and religion, or turn towards atheism.
Varang wears a headpiece very similar to Liani. However, it is unclear if this is intentional, a hint of them being sisters, or a visual coincidence.
She rides an animal called a nightwraith who the film's developers jokingly nicknamed "Ashley".[4]
Varang was first seen in an image captured in 2023, and then finally revealed in artwork at D3 2024.
Varang is mentioned as being a Tsahìk instead of an Olo'eykte. It is unclear if she can also be considered both a Tsahìk and a Olo'eykte at the same time. If so, she is the third canon Olo'eykte after Ikeyni and Nesim (and the fourth if Ro'até is considered).
Varang seems to wear severed queues; viewers speculate that it is either those of Na'vi she has defeated, or the queues of her clan members in order to show proof they do not follow Eywa. However, in an image that shows Varang, Quaritch, and Wainfleet mounting their ikrans disproves the 2nd theory as she and the rest of her clan still maintain their queues.
To prepare for the role and put her in the right headspace for acting, Chaplin listened to an intense music playlist that included Slipknot and heavy metal.[3]
