The Legend of Vox Machina Confirms if Lance Reddick Will Remain Thordak’s Voice in Season 3

After Wednesday’s The Legend of Vox Machina trailer, Critical Role’s Sam Riegel took to the Beacon Discord to answer fans’ burning questions surrounding the highly anticipated third season of the animated series. During his brief AMA, Riegel confirmed that Lance Reddick recorded Thordak’s dialogue before his passing, making the upcoming television season one of his final posthumous performances.  

Legendary Critical Role villain Thordak the Cinder King earned an appropriately prestigious voice actor in Reddick, with the performer menacingly spearheading the Chroma Conclave conflict in The Legend of Vox Machina‘s second season. However, about a month after the Critical Role animated series’ Season 2 finale, Reddick tragically passed away at age 60, leaving many to mourn the storied actor known for his work in John Wick, The Wire, and Fringe. In the year following Reddick’s death, the beloved artist appeared posthumously in series such as Percy Jackson and The Olympians and Kite Man: Hell Yeah!. Fans of The Legend of Vox Machina who presumed that Reddick’s draconic role would need to be recast in the gap between Seasons 2 and 3 were thus surprised to hear a familiar voice in the official trailer for the show’s upcoming season. Riegel then took to the Beacon exclusive Discord to confirm that fans’ ears had not deceived them and that Reddick had completed production on Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina before he passed away in March 2023.  

Despite his status as one of Vox Machina’s greatest foes, Riegel’s reveal had fans welcoming the Season 3 return of Thordak with open arms. Many expressed how touched they were at the opportunity to hear Reddick in one of his last television roles alongside simultaneous surprise at just how early production had started on The Legend of Vox Machina‘s third season. Riegel, who recently opened up about his battle with oropharyngeal carcinoma, likewise informed Beacon Discord members that he was able to complete his own work on Season 3 before undergoing surgery: “In fact — the night before my surgery I sang the final song for the season at 1 am,” a Reddit user reposted from Riegel’s The Legend of Vox Machina Q&A, “Then went to sleep. Then headed to hospital.”

Much like Riegel and the cast of Critical Role, Reddick’s voice has enriched the landscape of video games in addition to film and television, particularly with his roles in the Destiny and Horizon series. Reddick’s prolific body of work has made him a beloved fixture in an impressive range of fandoms, including Critical Role, where he can be heard one last time as Thordak the Cinder King in Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina on October 3rd.