Actor Lance Reddick has had an illustrious career in film and television, but he is probably best known to gamers as Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard in the Destiny games. It was a role he accepted, and not just within the development studio. He is known to appreciate both the game (which he himself played) and its fans, and he made so many fans so happy when they asked him out in 2021. Did. Zavala’s voice read him a Destiny 2 meme and he said yes.
Here’s a clip of “Lance Talking to Lance” from a Destiny 2 play session in 2022:
Playing Destiny 2 with @WacoOGuin! #Farzar @netflix July 15th pic.twitter.com/UNHjfSegLGJune 30, 2022
Reddick’s dedication to Destiny 2 and its community has made him a fan favorite. Following the news of his death today, players are gathering at the Tower to pay tribute to the man and character he portrayed: Zavala, the taciturn father figure of the Tower.
Tim Clarke, perhaps PC gamer’s most passionate Destiny 2 player, captured a video of Destiny 2 players surrounding Zavala and saluting him on the tower’s top. Clarke said that any instance he loaded was full of players gathering around Zavala, kneeling or popping any appropriate emote they could find.
(The sad swing seemed to be his favourite.)
Bungie Community Manager Liana Rupper shared an image of Zavala in his post shortly after Reddick’s death was reported.
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Destiny fans have also paid tribute to his portrayal of Reddick and Zavala. destiny subreddit (opens in new tab)Some said they expected Reddick to stay in the role forever as he was clearly attached to the role. Others want Zavala’s character to have a proper ending in Destiny rather than a new voice actor.
“The story is in a plausible place for Zavala to die,” wrote redditor Assassin Aragorn.
“Lance has been an integral part of Destiny, playing the game itself, creating memes with us, and generally liking player interaction. It’s fitting and poetic that this applies to games as well, since Lance/Zavala was such an important part of Destiny/Guardians.
We have reached out to Bungie for comment on Lance Reddick’s death and will update when the studio makes its own statement. I have other images.
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