Last week James Cameron’s Avatar turned a decade old and, in celebration, the film’s cast and crew are now gearing up for its long-awaited sequel. A sequel announced shortly after its release in 2009. According to Cinemablend, Stephen Lang will be reprising his role as the ruthless Colonel Miles Quaritch and had a few interesting things to say about Cameron’s award-winning film and his plans for sequels.

“Jim indicated to me years ago, before filming on Avatar was completed, that Quaritch had a future,” said Lang in his response to the upcoming sequel.”I might have taken that with a grain of salt at the time because we had a few beers. Shortly after Avatar opened Jim mentioned again that the Colonel was coming back, and by then I knew Jim well enough to know that he means what he says and he says what he means.”

Lang’s character was initially believed to be killed at the end of Avatar when two arrows pierced his chest but, over the years, the actor hinted that his character survived the fatality. Cameron did not reveal Lang’s return until Avatar 2‘s casting concluded, with the director even hinting that his character would return for future entries in the franchise. Avatar 2 is expected to be released possibly next year.