- You can now speak with Darth Vader in Fortnite
- Disney and Epic Games announced the revival of Darth Vader’s iconic voice thanks to the power of AI
- James Earl Jones died in 2024, but his voice lives on
Disney and Epic Games have confirmed Darth Vader’s iconic voice will be coming to Fortnite, thanks to the power of AI.
Darth Vader, one of Star Wars’ most famous characters, was voiced by actor James Earl Jones, who died last year at the age of 93. Now, starting today, fans of a galaxy far, far away will be able to hear his voice once more… in Fortnite.
In a blog post, Epic Games confirmed Jones’ AI voice will appear in Fortnite and that the company is “honored to feature the voice of the late Mr. Jones, and we thank his estate for the opportunity to make this happen for players.”
There’s also a quote from the actor’s family: “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”
The new Darth Vader dialogue was created by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model, and the audio by ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model. Fortnite players will be able to speak to Darth Vader in-game and recruit the Star Wars villain to help win a Victory Royale.
Darth Vader returns
There’s been an ongoing debate surrounding the use of AI to bring a deceased actor’s likeness to life. Jones, who’s not only famous for his role as Darth Vader, but also as Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King, signed over rights to his archival voice, collaborating with the Ukrainian company, Respeecher.
You may have heard of Respeecher before, as the company’s software was used to improve Hungarian dialect in Oscar-nominated The Brutalist earlier this year.
This collaboration will come under scrutiny, as the debate of whether or not we should keep actors’ likenesses alive following their passing rages on. That said, Disney and Epic Games, alongside Jones’ family, are clear that they’ve recreated his voice in the most tasteful way possible.
In the collaboration announcement, Disney and Epic said, “Epic Games and Disney have worked together to thoughtfully develop this innovative feature with a strong focus on transparency, consent, and safety — ensuring that creators, Disney IP, and players are protected in interactive experiences.”
So, whether you like it or not, you can chat with Darth Vader in Fortnite this weekend, although you’ll need to be over 13 as your data is sent to Gemini to generate a response.