The fire came from the mountain when I was little, burnt our forest. My people cried for help but Eywa did not come. So I went to the fire, and I learned its way.
Varang regarding her past.
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Varang is the aggressive Olo'eykte and Tsahìk of the Mangkwan clan. She is a violent and ruthless sorceress well-versed in the dark arts of Pandora, leading a religion that worships fire. She is a villain of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Varang grew up as the tsakarem, the next tsahìk, of her clan. She was raised by her mother in plant medicine and shamanic arts.[2]
When Varang was a little girl, she and her clan suffered immensely when their home was hit by a natural disaster, after a volcanic fire destroyed their forest, killed many of their people and left their Hometree in soot.[3] After these events, Varang and her clan members, such as her trusted warrior Riku, decided to stop honoring Eywa, and even began to question and resent the deity of the Na'vi.
She rose up to guide the Mangkwan out of their intense misery, including starvation. On her quest for power, she turned the crafts of her ancestors into dark arts by using her knowledge to create toxins and hallucinogens to control people around her.[2] 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.
Varang harnesses fire.
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.
When Peylak and the Tlalim clan are transferring Miles Socorro and Jake's family back to High Camp via airship, Varang and the Mangkwan attack them. Varang ignites a medusa using her flame arrow which nearly ends up killing Jake.
Varang threatens Spider.
In one scene, Varang and the Mangkwan are seen hunting the Sully children and Spider in a rainforest. Her clan captures the children, and she examines Lo'ak's gun before wondering how Spider can breathe without an exopack and slaps him. Kiri claims it is the will of Eywa. Varang then holds Spider hostage and threatens to cut him, asking Kiri if she believes Eywa will save him, leaving Kiri dejected. Varang then tells Kiri that Eywa holds no dominion in their situation.
Varang receives weapons from Quaritch.
At some point, she meets Miles Quaritch. He comes to her to provide her clan with RDA weapons. After Lyle Wainfleet snipes one of her clan members, she compliments Quaritch for performing a decent trick against her. While Quaritch and Varang are alone, he offers to be her equal, and claims he can provide her with ultimate weaponry to dominate all the other Na'vi clans. Varang agrees with "I See You" and Quaritch replies, "Damn right you do." Varang expects to control him as easily as her clan, but this turns out to be a misconception.[2]
Varang is a violent, dangerous, bloodthirsty and merciless woman. Being the leader of people who have gone through enormous hardship, she is incredibly strong and hardened. She will do anything for them, even actions considered to be evil. She holds grudges and has a violent "eye for an eye" mentality. She is also said to accept those who have murdered Na'vi into her clan. She is the leader of a religion that believes 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.[4] 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 shoots 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. It is implied that she is skilled in combat and is a effective leader, having saved her people from starvation.
Memorable Quotes[]
„I am the fire!“- Varang while attacking the Tlalim clan.
„Burn them all!“- Varang being vengeful.
„If I cut now, do you think Eywa will come to save him? Do you think? Your goddess... has no dominion here.“- Varang to Kiri while holding Spider hostage.
„Good trick... Quaritch.“- Varang after a member of her clan is executed by Wainfleet.
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 is currently unknown if Varang and the Mangkwan clan know English (to some degree), and how they would have learned it, or if their language is automatically translated into English for the sake of the audience in a similar fashion to the Metkayina clan. She is seen communicating with Quaritch, but it is unclear if he can be considered fully fluent in the Na'vi language yet.
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's outfit was designed to symbolize her heart being closed off from the world.[5]
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".[6]
Varang was first seen in an image captured in 2023, and then finally revealed in artwork at D3 2024.
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 ikran 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.[4]
Varang is the second character to be both Olo'eykte and Tsahìk of a clan, the first one being Sänume, a non-canon character from James Cameron's Avatar: The Game.
