If you're one of the five people in the country who didn't see Avatar in the cinema and still intends on watching it one of these years, you might want to stop reading now: although reports suggest that referencing some of the first film's most dramatic events may not be 'spoilers' in the traditional sense.

Although the first film isn't due until 2016, Sam Worthington's claim earlier this week that director James Cameron is intending to shoot his trio of Avatar sequels late next year has led to increased speculation over what form the films will take. Sigourney Weaver has previously hinted that her character Dr. Grace Augustine will return at some capacity, despite a rather definitive death scene in the original film. She told Coming Soon that James Cameron explained "no one ever dies in science fiction".

Now, The Hollywood Reporter has announced Stephen Lang - who played the villainous Colonel Quaritch - will also be returning. Quaritch was killed by the main Na'vi character Neytiri in Avatar's final battle scene.

Details on how exactly Cameron explains such resurrections will likely be kept under wraps until the films' eventual releases, maybe even serving as one of their main mysteries. However, returning from the dead perhaps won't be such a stretch in the sci-fi world of Pandora (although the sequels are expected to expand beyond that fictional planet). The first film featured a mystical and magical Tree of Souls, while the core premise of the franchise sees humans being able to transfer their consciousness into alien avatars. 

Resurrection in science fiction is nothing new, either. Leonard Nimoy's Spock was killed in the Star Trek sequel Wrath of Khan, only to be brought back to life in the next film. Similarly, the character of Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) didn't survive The Avengers, but is now the lead in the follow-up TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Avatar remains the highest grossing film of all time, with a total worldwide box office take of approximately €2 billion.