James Earl Jones

2022 - 9 - 24

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Image courtesy of "Gizmodo"

James Earl Jones is Retiring from Darth Vader, But an AI Firm Owns ... (Gizmodo)

James Earl Jones has been Darth Vader since the original Star Wars all the way back in 1977. While the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker has been ...

Similar to discussions about [AI art](https://kotaku.com/ai-art-dall-e-midjourney-stable-diffusion-copyright-1849388060), there’s something ethically dicey about this, and that feeling will likely not go away as Disney uses it in other shows or films. Enter Respeecher: the technology that helped bring to life a younger Luke Skywalker in [Book of Boba Fett](https://gizmodo.com/book-of-boba-fett-episode-6-luke-voice-hamill-1848491617) was implemented for Vader in Kenobi, while physically the character was portrayed by Hayden Christensen (Anakin) and Dmitrious Bistrevsky (Vader suit). But all great things must come to an end, Jones has quietly confirmed that he’s gearing up to retire from voicing the galaxy’s [biggest drama queen](https://gizmodo.com/darth-vaders-best-burns-not-counting-the-ones-covering-1770848358). Jones deserves to retire from such an iconic role, but it’s a little weird to ensure that his performance lives on through AI technology. Jones is 91, and his voice has changed considerably in the last several decades. While the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker has been canonically dead since 1983, Jones has consistently reprised the role over the decades, including in 2016's Rogue One and the recent [Obi-Wan Kenobi](https://gizmodo.com/obi-wan-kenobi-darth-vader-episode-3-fight-anakin-skywa-1849011425) series.

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Image courtesy of "Variety"

James Earl Jones Steps Back From Voicing Darth Vader, Signs Off ... (Variety)

James Earl Jones, who famously voiced "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader for nearly 40 years, has signed off on A.I. tech recreating his younger voice.

Following the debut of “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Jones’ family informed Wood that they were pleased with the result of the synthesis between the actor’s voice and Respeecher’s technical work. The two also teamed for the voice performance of Darth Vader on the series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which debuted on Disney’s streamer this summer. Respeecher’s relationship with Lucasfilm began with the Disney+ series “The Book of Boba Fett,” for which they recreated the voice of young Luke Skywalker.

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