The untimely death of Lance Reddick in 2023 was felt throughout the entertainment world. For Destiny 2 fans, the loss was especially acute: Reddick had provided the voice of Commander Zavala, Vanguard Commander of the Last City, since the release of the original Destiny in 2014. The character’s fate in the wake of Reddick’s passing was unclear at first, but Bungie opted to keep him around, with Keith David, another widely-respected character actor, stepping in to fill the role.
Eight months after David’s casting announcement, we’ve finally got our first look—or, more appropriately, listen—at his take on the character, and I have to say, it hits the spot.
I’m a very lapsed Destiny 2 player but even so, this clip lands just right. It’s Zavala—a little more gravelly, maybe a bit deeper, but with inflection and intonation close enough to the original that I don’t come away feeling like Bungie hired an imitator, they hired a new Zavala to carry on the role. And even though it’s not a reference to Reddick, the fact that Bungie chose this particular quote for David’s debut really comes off as a touching homage.
The reaction from fans is widely …