One of the most complex and beloved characters in Guerrilla Games' Horizon series is Sylens, whose alliances shift in his pursuit of knowledge. He's played by Lance Reddick in both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, but after the actor's passing in 2023, fans have been left wondering what will happen to the character.
While one option would've been to write Sylens out of the story in future games, it seems Guerrilla has opted to recast him instead. Speaking to IGN in relation to LEGO Horizon Adventures, senior world artist Lucas Bolt explains.
"Lance Reddick tragically passed away in 2023, and he is deeply missed within Guerrilla and our community," says Bolt. "He wonderfully portrayed the essential character of Sylens in Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West. The character of Sylens does appear in LEGO Horizon Adventures, and we will introduce the new actor at a later date."
There's a possibility the new voice could be that of Keith David, who stepped into the role of Destiny's Commander Zavala following Reddick's passing. Whoever it may be, we'll find out soon, as LEGO Horizon Adventures is due to release in less than a month on 14th November.
Presumably, the actor who portrays Sylens in this title will go on to play him in the unannounced but inevitable Horizon 3.
If you want to know more about the game itself, we have a brand new hands-on preview for your perusal.
Who would you have succeed Lance Reddick in the role of Horizon's Sylens? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source ign.com]
Comments 41
A necessary… if incredibly sad move. Loved that guy since Cedric Daniels.
It's really sad but unfortunately they just had no other choice. Sylens is so important to the plot.
He'll be tough to beat, his voice work was fantastic, very iconic.
I wouldn't mind if they got Keith David to voice Sylens. David is awesome and has a long heritage in video games.
If not, I hope they brought on someone with a powerful and magnetic voice like Reddick had. He was the main reason Sylens is my favorite character in the series. I would pick Adetokumboh M'Cormack, who was outstanding as Isaac in Netflix's Castlevania series.
He was a standout in every role he took on. He will be missed.
I've been watching the Wire recently and have been reminded what a truly fantastic actor he was. A true loss.
I hope at least they get to continue to use his likeness. Won't be the same, but it would be weird if Sylens suddenly looked entirely different.
Always sad when someone passes too soon but I’m glad they’re not just writing off or killing Sylens. I wasn’t happy with the way they just killed off Black Panther when Chadwick Boseman passed. He was great as him but Marvel could've easily recasted and avoided the mess that was Black Panther 2.
There's a third option they could have taken, which thankfully they didn't - AI-driven Lance Riddick clone. Have someone do the motion capture, they already have the character model, and AI is reasonably good at copying voice.
I'd rather they NOT go that way. A new actor is better, hopefully he'll do well, whoever it is.
But if they took Riddick out of the Zero Dawn Remaster, I won't buy the upgrade.
Keith David or bust
Why not just use AI for him instead,more than enough data to use im sure through all of his movies,games,tv shows keep his memory alive in the horizon, of course if the family agreed
It's so sad and tragic but unfortunately it has to be done Lance was beyond sensational as Sylens it's gonna be hard to accept a different voice but he's too good a character and too essential to just die off screen in between games. And as others in the comments have said if you're gonna get anyone cast the GOAT Keith David
“I wish I was Levar Burton!”
Keith David is the ideal choice in my opinion to replace him.
Loved Lance Reddick so much, part of me thinks it would be perfect to cast LeVar Burton, he wishes he was him after all!
That’s sad, I kinda hoped they’d homage his character but given how Forbidden West ends it’s very difficult to set Sylens aside.
I first saw Lance Reddick in his role on Fringe, and he was just so freaking good. Turns out he was so freaking good in EVERY role he ever took.
The man will be missed, and whoever takes over Sylens’ role has very large shoes to fill.
@wildcat_kickz Not sure if it is up your street or not but he was fantastic in Fringe, great easy watching sci fi show!
He wasn't in it much but I first saw him in OZ what a series that was, all round great actor and person by all accounts.
Keith David??
As in Keith David from 'The Thing' & 'They Live'...?
Well that's an excellent choice IMHO. RIP Lance Reddick.
I don't really like it when they recast a character when the actor dies, but unfortunately like people have said he's almost too important to the plot just to have the character die in between games. That would've been an option though, and then just have Beta take over his work, but I also get not wanting to throw away the character.
My first pick would seriously be LeVar Burton. If not him, then the Keith David pick would obviously work.
@Futureshark Yeah, and in the world of gaming, Captain Anderson from Mass Effect. If you don't remember him, or didn't play it, he was like a mentor and friend to Shepard.
@Mostik I've actually seen it! It kinda tailed off in quality towards the end, but the first couple seasons were super solid. I thought both Reddick and John Noble were great in the show.
Peter Mensah gets my vote.
I think David Hardwood would be a great choice
@wildcat_kickz Yeah good shout John Noble was great too, your right it did fade a bit but those early seasons were great!
@Areus Whilst Hardwood makes me smile (very childish I know) Do you mean Harewood? If so, decent shout!
This just makes me so sad. ☹️☹️☹️
I was recently watching Kite Man, and one of the joys of that series was the portrayal of a funny, wicked Lex Luthor for the first few episodes by Lance Reddick. Then he tragically passed away and a new actor took over-no offense to that actor, but it simply was not the same.
Sylens is such a crucial character so there was no choice, but I hate that this happened so much.
What makes me so sad about Lance Reddick's passing isn't just that he was a great actor but it was the way he conducted himself. When he played roles like Sylens, not only did he put in a great performance but he treated it like it wasn't just a job and embraced the communities that his work help make.
I got sad when i saw lance in the Ballerina trailer.
If he is to be recast it would have to be keith david or someone unknown who can nail the voice
I thought that Sylens was criminally underused in Forbidden West.
Gonna be honest I hope it's not Keith David like Destiny 2. Listening to him trying to show emotion or anger was just cringe inducing.
@KilloWertz Personally just not a fan of changing your story because someone died or a tragic event happened, tell the story you want to tell. You want to delay it to let people mourn or put in a message about it that's fine.
Id hope if anyone would step into Lance Reddicks (very difficult to fill) shoes it should be David Harewood who took over the Mr Door role in Alan Wake 2 and did it superbly.
Anyone who played AW2 can testify to how good he was and in parts channeled Reddick superbly especially in one late game scene
Hard to replace somebody with such a great and distinctive voice
RIP lance! He was my favourite character in the games
Just watching Vox Machina and being reminded what a great actor he was. Iconic voice.
Hope they keep his likeness at least. Can never get used to recasts
He's the only other main character I actually remember from the game. I've seriously forgotten almost the entire cast again. He just had a presence and an unmistakable voice...
I don't know how I feel about it. I don't know how they'd do the story without Sylens, but, Sylens is Lance, and without him I don't feel the character has anywhere close to the weight he should have. He was a once in a generation unique presence in any role, and that presence can't be duplicated. Sylens loses his gravitas without Lance behind him. And he was the most interesting part of the Horizon world.
You can't really replace what was lost. I'd almost feel better if they found a creative way to develop the story where Sylens wasn't part of it.
Sylens is a great character, and a good actor to continue his role would be Morgan Freeman.
As a spin-off tribute game, Vin Diesel in Chronicles Of Reddick 😉
Awesome character actor, such a shame he passed. I loved him as the concierge type character in the John Wick movies. Great voice on this dude, very talented voiceover work as well.
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