The end of Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores seems to suggest Guerrilla may still have some unfinished business with the late Lance Reddick.
Lance was well known for multiple roles in film, shows, and video games. He was part of Horizon Forbidden West as the duplicitous character Sylens, simultaneously an ally and untrustworthy companion to Aloy.
I won’t spoil Sylens’ backstory here, but his wild background in the world of Horizon sees him form two separate cults, and reappear to Aloy time and time again with help and knowledge, but without disclosing his attempts to manipulate Aloy to further his own ends.
Sylens isn’t really a 2D villain; rather than seeking political power, he is pushed by a desire for knowledge. One could argue that this is a form of power of its own, but his actions in the course of the franchise indicate that while he is not someone who can never be fully trusted, he has his own moral code and has some sense of right and wrong, even if he doesn’t strictly adhere himself to the same standards all the time.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Sylens appears in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores in the mission named Epilogue. He tells Aloy that he has found a lead from the information recovered from the Burning Shores that will allow them to finally defeat the franchise’s ultimate villain Nemesis.
Sylens tells Aloy there is a weapon that can destroy Nemesis, and that he intends to find it, but he’ll need Aloy’s help to do so. And this is where we leave the make believe world of Horizon and reexamine the real world.
While Reddick had been able to record lines as Commander Zavala for his future appearances in the Destiny franchise, it isn’t clear that Guerrilla Games was able to secure similar work from him prior to his passing.
Now, the worry over this may be for nothing. Even in video games, actors usually do get paid to deliver lines in scheduled recording sessions, and their pay is determined by how many sessions they had and what hours they put in.
So it’s entirely possible, even likely, that Reddick’s lines as Sylens were already recorded well in advance. Guerrilla may not have anticipated anything happening to Reddick but also had plans to sunset his character as well.
Any possible options if this aren’t the case are muddier but not entirely insurmountable. They may write Reddick’s character Sylens out, in a way that makes sense for the games moving forward. Alternately, they could find a soundalike actor. The new Sylens voice actor may not really replace everything Reddick was, but they could bring something else new to the character.
In any case, this is certainly an instance where Reddick’s loss continues to be felt to this day.
