Lance Reddick, acclaimed actor from The Wire and Fringe as well as voice actor for Commander Zavala in Destiny 2, died on March 17. Since then, Destiny 2 players have mourned his death by paying in-game tribute to his character, who remains present at his post in the Tower, one of the game’s central social hubs. After having released a brief initial statement following the news, developer Bungie put out a more detailed update on Thursday about Reddick’s contributions to the game, as well as the future of his character in Destiny 2.
“As an actor, musician, gamer, and family man, the passion Lance brought to the things he loved was reflected in the eyes and hearts of all who loved him,” the announcement from Bungie reads. “For now, we will honor his presence through his performances yet to come in the game, and in the memories that will last us a lifetime.”
Bungie’s reference to “performances yet to come” indicates that Commander Zavala will not be recast. Instead, Reddick will continue to portray the role posthumously, at least until the storylines to which he contributed voice acting have been concluded. After that point, it seems possible — even likely — that Zavala will be written out of Destiny 2, either through his death or by some other means. Given the extensive presence of Reddick’s voice as Zavala in the game, it would certainly be difficult for another actor to step in.
Lance Reddick has several other posthumous roles and acting work yet to be released. John Wick: Chapter 4 came out shortly before Reddick’s death and features him, as did the previous three John Wick films. Reddick reprised his role from that franchise in an upcoming spinoff film, The Ballerina, which does not yet have a release date. That’s not the end of the list, though. Reddick will play Zeus in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a series for Disney Plus, and he’ll also appear in three other movies — the 2023 reboot White Men Can’t Jump, the Shirley Chisolm biopic Shirley, and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, which is based on a 1953 play.
