The great James Earl Jones died last year, but his legacy continues in ways that go beyond the usual archive associated with an actor of such range and talent. In 2022, news emerged that he had signed off on a deal that would allow AI to replicate his voice — specifically, his voice as the Star Wars character Darth Vader. And while you might think that would largely show up in Star Wars movies and television shows, it’s another media appearance altogether that’s led to a legal complaint from SAG-AFTRA.
Last week, the Walt Disney Company announced that Darth Vader would appear in the video game Fortnite “as a conversational AI-experience, powered by the iconic voice of Disney Legend James Earl Jones.” Despite Disney stressing that Jones’s family was involved in the process, the move has led to controversy and one official complaint.
The Verge’s Ash Parrish reported that SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor complaint against Fortnite parent company Epic Games. At issue is whether the AI-generated version of Jones’s voice violated industry policy. As Parrish pointed out, this connects directly to issues that have led video game voice actors to go on strike.
“Fortnite’s signatory company, Llama Productions, chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology,” SAG-AFTRA wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms.”
James Earl Jones Is Retiring From the “Star Wars” Universe — But His Voice Might Not
It’s a new era for A.I. and filmHaving never played Fortnite myself, I’m not sure what a conversation would look like in the game, though I suspect that if I encountered Darth Vader in most settings, my reaction would be to get as far away as I could from the murderous telekinetic cyborg carrying a laser sword.
Still, this is far from the most controversial story to break this year involving authorized AI recreations of celebrities’ voices.
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