• Since Lance Reddick passed away in March, Destiny players have been awaiting news on who would replace him as Commander Zavala.
• Bungie has now announced that accomplished actor Keith David would take over the role in The Final Shape and beyond.
• Voice lines that Reddick had already recorded will remain in the game.

Earlier this year, Lance Reddick passed away suddenly at age 60. The accomplished actor was well known for his roles in John Wick, Fringe, Lost and perhaps most notably, The Wire.

However, the actor also lent his voice to videogames and his most well-known role was that of Destiny’s stoic Titan Vanguard, Commander Zavala. The actor didn’t just lend his voice to the character, he played the game religiously and formed part of Destiny’s wide community of players.

The passing of the titan sent shock waves through the community and the question for months has been who would replace Reddick as Zavala. On Thursday evening, Bungie revealed that Keith David would take over the role of Zavala in The Final Shape and beyond.

“I am honoured to continue the great work of Lance Reddick as Zavala. Lance captured the character’s sense of integrity so wonderfully. It is my intention to continue that work,” David in a statement.

Listing the numerous accomplishments David has achieved over his career would be exhausting. He has appeared in hundreds of films, TV shows and videogames. He has also worked with Bungie before when the developer still owned the Halo franchise.

As mentioned, players will likely only begin to hear David’s voice in The Final Shape. That having been said, Bungie has said that “Lance’s existing lines in-game will remain untouched for the upcoming release.”

We’re not sure if this means players could hear two different versions of Zavala or if players will hear Zavala at the Tower and David elsewhere. That sure would be confusing.

This isn’t the first time Bungie has had to recast one of its main voice actors. In 2021 the developer hired Mara Junot to play the voice of Ikora Rey. The character had been played by Gina Torres previously and many thought the change would be jarring. Fast forward a few years and it wasn’t, Junot made the character her own and we’d argue Ikora is much more involved in the core of Destiny 2 these days.

David has some big shoes to fill but we suspect that if anybody can fill them, it’s him.