--- title: "James Earl Jones Now Letting Darth Vader Be Voiced by AI" description: "Although James Earl Jones has stepped away from his most iconic role, the legendary \"Star Wars\" actor's incredible baritone lives on thank to AI." date: "2022-09-26" modified: "2022-09-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/darth-vader-ai-voice" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "deepfakes" - "star wars" - "the digest" --- # James Earl Jones Now Letting Darth Vader Be Voiced by AI ![Although James Earl Jones has stepped away from his most iconic role, the legendary "Star Wars" actor's incredible baritone lives on thank to AI.]() *\Image: Frederic J Brown via Getty / Futurism\* ## Altering the Deal Although James Earl Jones has stepped away from his most iconic role, the legendary "Star Wars" actor's incredible baritone lives on, thanks to a Ukrainian artificial intelligence startup. First [reported by *Vanity Fair*](), the 91-year-old actor worked with the Ukrainian firm Respeecher to recreate Vader's instantly recognizable voice for the franchise's recent "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series — and it was actually the second time Lucasfilm had worked with the company. Using archival soundbites, Respeecher "cloned" both Jones' voice for "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and the younger version of Mark Hamill's early Luke Skywalker for "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," the report notes. Per those who worked on the Disney+ series, Earl Jones still provides guidance on the depiction of his infamous character. https://twitter.com/JWButta/status/1573489009417920513 ## Star War Stories The circumstances of the project were dramatic. As *Vanity Fair* notes, much of the final steps in the AI speech process took place during the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the Kyiv-based firm and its employees putting the finishing touches on the Earl Jones voice clone as air raid sirens blared outside their home offices. "Why did I do it?" Bogdan Belyaev, Respeecher's Lviv-based speech artist, mused to *Vanity Fair.* "It’s a big honor to work with Lucasfilm, and I’ve been a fan of *Star Wars* since I was a kid." Though it's [not the first time]() AI has been used to recreate a movie star's voice — and most certainly won't be the last — the harrowing conflict surrounding the AI-inflected Darth Vader in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" make this use of speech cloning tech all the more impressive. **READ MORE:** [Darth Vader’s Voice Emanated From War-Torn Ukraine]() \[*Vanity Fair*\] **More iconic AI:** *[Val Kilmer's Dialogue in Top Gun: Maverick Was Read By AI Because He Can't Speak Anymore]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()