Bungie discusses delving into trauma in Destiny 2’s Season of the Haunted and almost bringing back Cayde-6

Season of the Haunted in Destiny 2 was not an easy thing to tackle for the characters in the story. The narrative team at Bungie took on these subjects with care and respect, showing the tragedies the featured characters had endured, why the trauma continued to haunt them, and how they overcame it.

To provide further background on this subject, the team at Bungie has shared an in-depth behind-the-scenes blog post breaking down how Season of the Haunted came to be with narrative directors Robert Brookes and Nikko Stevens. The team also briefly discusses how they almost brought back a fan-favorite character: Cayde-6.

The foundation for Season of the Haunted began within the first month of Brookes’ time at Bungie, where the team discussed a potential exotic quest. The quest featured a derelict ship that had been lost within the rings of Saturn and returned. However, the team couldn’t find any good foundation or reason for these pieces to fit into the narrative.

“We had talked about possibly involving the Cabal,” Brookes shared, “but I remember someone said that we should do some kind of spooky ghost ship.” Thus, the idea of what would be on a haunted ship was eagerly discussed, along with the ideas from the 1997 science-fiction horror movie Event Horizon, to help influence the narrative team’s direction.

The haunted ship and ghosts appearing throughout couldn’t simply be there for aesthetics. The team wanted to have meaning for the Guardians exploring the ship and the owner, Calus. “I remember thinking, ‘Hold up, what if our version of ghosts centered around trauma and unsolved business?'” Brookes said, “And I’m looking at Shadowkeep and the shared thread of trauma there, and this massive lightbulb just went off.”

Many Destiny 2 community members connected with the characters’ trauma and what they went through. One character Bungie toyed with being featured in this line-up was Ikora, and it would be the trauma felt towards losing Cayde-6. The team thought about doing this and bringing back Cayde-6 as a phantom haunting her. “Would it have been cool for Cayde-6 to come back?” Brookes shared, “Of course, but there was no way we could have done it in the time we had.”

While we did not have a chance for Cayde-6 to return or for Nathan Fillion to reprise his role, Season of the Haunted served as a good way to point the Destiny 2 fanbase at where they were headed in the next few months, eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Witness in the upcoming expansion, Lightfall, releasing on February 28, 2023.