Greenleaf alum Keith David has been tapped to take over the role of Commander Zavala in Destiny 2‘s upcoming expansion release The Final Shape. He replaces the late Lance Reddick, who passed away earlier this year.
Game developer Bungie made the announcement Monday morning.
“Commander Zavala has been central to the story we have been telling since the original Destiny, and we have plans to continue his journey,” the Destiny 2 team wrote in a post on Bungie’s website titled “Thank you, Commander: The Future of Zavala’s Journey”.
“Earlier this year, we lost Lance Reddick, the English language voice actor of Commander Zavala,” the post read. “The passion and professionalism Lance brought to the role over the last decade was unmistakable and loved by all. Lance’s iconic voice led us through the most intense moments in Destiny’s history and his impact on our Guardians, our community, and Bungie as a whole will never be forgotten.
Commander Zavala has been central to the story we have been telling since the original Destiny, and we have plans to continue his journey.”
David also revealed the news on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, saying he is “honored to continue the great work of Lance Riddick as Zavala.” In a video, David said “One of the great qualities of Zavala that attracts me, this is integrity and his sense of family, and I thought that Lance captured that wonderfully. And it is my intention to continue that work and continue to bring that kind of integrity to the role”.
Bungie clarified that Reddick’s existing lines in-game will remain untouched for the upcoming release.
David has had a long relationship with Bungie, having previously voiced the Arbiter character in 2004’s Halo 2.
“Bungie is honored to continue the relationship that began with Keith during the days of Halo, and the team is excited for what he brings to the role of the Commander,” the company said in a statement. “We will always remain respectful to the role Zavala has played thus far, and look forward to the journey ahead”.
Set in a “mythic science fiction” world, the Destiny franchise features a multiplayer “shared-world“ environment with elements of role-playing games. Players take on the role of a Guardian, protectors of Earth’s last safe city as they wield a power called Light, granted by a celestial being called the Traveler, to protect the City from different alien races. Guardians journey to different planets to investigate and destroy the alien threats before humanity is completely wiped out, while also engaging in an intergalactic war against the Traveler’s ancient enemy, the Darkness—Guardians also later learn to control and use its power.
