As Bungie continues to tease out the release of Destiny 2: The Final Shape, it has finally unveiled how Keith David (The Thing, Halo, Mass Effect) will sound when he assumes the mantle of Commander Zavala. Zavala, a key character in the Destiny series, had been played by the beloved actor Lance Reddick until last year, when he tragically passed from coronary heart disease.
As part of the upcoming expansion’s marketing cycle, Bungie is in the midst of releasing a series of short documentaries on the making of The Final Shape. The first part of this doc, which debuted on May 23, contains two brief scenes debuting David as Zavala. They are, predictably, a gut punch.
The first scene, which comes about three minutes into the first part of the ViDoc, features Zavala telling an unseen character that he would’ve given anything to bring them back. He is presumably talking to Cayde-6, a character who was killed off in 2018’s Forsaken expansion and with whom Zavala had a close relationship (who is returning and will be voiced, once again, by Nathan Fillion). Later on, there is another cutscene of Zavala telling his fellow vanguard Ikora Rey that he won’t “lose another soldier in this war.” It’s impossible not to read the lines as the game’s developers and fans alike wishing Reddick could still be here for this momentous moment in the series.
Reddick’s character became an increasingly integral part of Destiny’s long-running story, but the actor was a positive fixture of the game’s community in real life, too. Fans adored Reddick, who often took the time out of his day to engage with them on social media. He’d often field questions from fans on Twitter even when he wasn’t actively working on the game or promoting it. When he passed,countless players amassed near his character in Destiny 2’s hub and publicly mourned Reddick’s passing while celebrating his contributions to the series.
After his passing, many Bungie developers who’d worked with Reddick shared how fond they had become of him over the years. Reddick, who’d been with the series since day one, seemed to have fostered an especially strong affinity for Destiny, and he often played the game. In a heartbreaking and completely unintended gesture, it was eventually discovered that Reddick was playing Destiny 2 the night before he passed away.
At the time of his passing, Reddick had recorded some lines for Zavala for some of the content following 2023’s Lightfall expansion. Over the course of some months though, Zavala’s role in the story diminished, and players understood before long that they’d probably heard the last of Reddick’s posthumous work. Beginning with The Final Shape, David is taking over the role, and though he has a commanding voice and certainly has the gravitas, Reddick’s unique take on the character he originated will be missed.
Moises Taveras
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