Darth Vader fromStar Wars’latestFortniteappearance comes with an AI voice based on James Earl Jones that can communicate and converse with players, all approved by the deceased actor’s estate.
A big part of Darth Vader’s appeal as a villain was the performance by James Earl Jones. This is especially apparent to those who have seen the original performance done by David Prowse, who was the body of Vader beneath the suit. Unfortunately,Jones passed away in 2024, seemingly ending his run as the voice of Vader.
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Darth Vader’s classic voicelives on in Fortnite, as the character appears as a recruitable character in the game’s Battle Royale mode once they beat him. As confirmed on the officialFortnitewebsite, those who get Vader on their team can speak to an AI recreation of the original voice.
Fortnite Darth Vader Has Kept The Original Voice Via AI
According to the website, the AI recreation of James Earl Jones’ voice was approved by the deceased actor’s estate. This is because Jones signed over the rights to his voice before his passing, allowing it to be reused through AI in future Star Wars media projects. It was even used while he was alive in theObi-Wan TV show, as he had retired from acting at this point.
In practice, the voice isn’t that impressive. It’s kind of like a Darth Vader-style Satnav, with limited responses that come off feeling unnatural. But, at least it’s Jones’ voice, and it’s not something that’s stolen, like somany other AI projects.
The Darth Vader AI voice feels like a gimmick: a great idea in concept but not that useful in the grand scheme of things. He mostly talks trivia about Star Wars rather than offering any interesting insight or helpful strategies. Hopefully, if the voice is used in future movies (rather than just getting another actor to do the role), then it will sound more natural and not like atext-to-speech program.
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