“Darth Vader wouldn’t be nearly as sinister without the legendary performance of James Earl Jones, who voiced Vader in the Star Wars films,” the blog continues, and one could certainly argue that there’s a sinister element to using anyone’s likeness after they’ve died and can’t continuously consent to how it’s being used. The late actor’s family has apparently signed off on the endeavor, adding that Jones “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.”
To this you might say: if you wanted to appreciate Darth Vader, could you not just watch any of the movies or TV shows that Jones made during his lifetime? But in fairness, Jones did already agree to use an AI reconstruction of his voice while he was still alive, in at least one instance. In 2022, a story in Vanity Fair detailed how Ukrainian firm Respeecher generated Vader’s voice for the Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi. (They were working on this as Russia invaded their country, another less-than-fun fact.) That time, however, Jones was on hand to “guide” the process and available to sign off on the final product. This seems impossible here, not only because Jones is no longer alive, but because the product being advertised is conversational, presumably dependent on what dialogue players feed it. Maybe he’ll only say approved phrases, or maybe he’ll end up talking about sticking out your gyatt for the Rizzler. Yes, we know that’s a Roblox meme, not a Fortnite meme, but does the Darth Vader AI know that?
