Avatar: The Way Of Water - 22 WTF Moments

In the first film, the RDA was of course seeking to mine Pandora of its rich, valuable mineral unobtanium, while in the sequel their motivation for returning is quite radically different.

As revealed by General Frances Ardmore (a criminally underused Edie Falco), the RDA is making an industrious effort to "tame" and eventually colonise Pandora as the "new home for humanity," because Earth is dying.

But they first need to "pacify the hostiles" in order to make room for humans, and that's where Quaritch comes in.

The film certainly makes it clear that the RDA has made considerable strides on Pandora since the first movie, having established a large human base called Bridgehead City, but their endgame was an altogether more ambitious undertaking.