[3] Lang said of his casting:[3] I'd auditioned for Aliens about 20+ years ago, and he talked about that in our conversation, so, y'know, I've kind of gone on record as saying that this was the world's longest callback.

[3]Despite the character's death at the end of Avatar, Cameron confirmed in 2010 that Lang would return in the film's sequels, stating, "I'm not going to say exactly how we're bringing him back, but it's a science fiction story, after all.

[4] In October 2019, Lang revealed that his character was always meant to return in the sequels, stating:[5] Jim indicated to me years ago, before filming on Avatar was completed, that Quaritch had a future.

[12][13][14] On the moon Pandora, tensions between humans and its indigenous Na'vi had been rising, making it harder for the RDA to mine for unobtanium, a highly valuable mineral used for energy generation which sits under the Omaticaya Clan's Hometree.

When paraplegic ex-Marine Jake Sully arrives on Pandora to replace his brother Tom in the Avatar Program, Quaritch offers to pay for his reconstructive leg surgery in exchange for information about the Na'vi, the Omaticaya Clan, their Hometree, and the Tree of Souls.

Quaritch then begins an assault on the Tree of Souls, quickly dispatching the bewildered Na'vi until Pandora's wildlife, seemingly at the direction of Eywa herself, attacks RDA's forces in mass.

Aware of the danger Spider's knowledge of his whereabouts poses to their safety, Jake and his family exile themselves from the Omaticaya and join the Metkayina reef people clan at Pandora's oceans to hide from the RDA.

Quaritch brings Spider with him and commandeers a whaling vessel and orders them to kill tulkuns to draw Jake and the Metkayina out.

Quaritch captures Lo'ak, along with Jake's youngest daughter Tuk, and Tsireya, the daughter of the Metkayina's chief, Tonowari, and aggressively demands Jake to surrender in exchange for their safe return, but Payakan attacks the whalers, triggering a fight that kills most of the crew and damages the vessel, causing it to sink.

After killing Falco and activating the Emulator which cuts off the Na'vi's connection with Eywa, Quaritch congratulates Ryder and orders them to return to base.

[21] Similarly, Chris Hewitt, writing for Empire, described Lang's performance as "excellent" and claimed the character was "a scenery-chewing bad guy so badass that he can breathe the Pandoran air without a mask.

[23] Conversely, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times criticized the "flat dialogue" and "obvious characterization" of Quaritch and the other antagonists in the first film.

[24] Russell D. Moore of The Christian Post concluded that "propaganda exists in the film" and stated "If you can get a theater full of people in Kentucky to stand and applaud the defeat of their country [as represented by Quaritch and his men] in war, then you've got some amazing special effects.