Star Wars: Darth Vader’s James Earl Jones Signed Off On AI Technology to Recreate His Voice

Obi-Wan Kenobi revealed a new chapter in Star Wars lore to fans all around the world, and they did a pretty decent job of showing where the titular was in between the prequel and original trilogy. Ewan McGregor reprised his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen came back as Darth Vader. Most fans know the actor as the face under the mask of one of the greatest villains of all time, but his voice was always more important. James Earl Jones has loaned his voice to the character since the first time Darth Vader appeared on screen, and he technically voiced him in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Previously, there were reports that Lucasfilm was using a voice A.I. to replace Jones and use his voice for the future, and it seems that the actor approved the move. During a new interview with Vanity Fair, the people behind the A.I. revealed that Jones has signed off on the technology and even advises them on it.

Apparently, the 91 year old actor was ready to retire from voicing the character and agreed for the company to use his voice. “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood told the magazine. “So how do we move forward?” Jones is also credited for guiding the Vader’s voice performance on the series and Wood even called him “a benevolent godfather.”

The most recent Star Wars series to hit Disney+ is Andor. Luna returns as one of the most interesting characters in the Star Wars universe, Cassian Andor. Back in May, ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis got the chance to speak with Andor’s leading man during Star Wars Celebration, and he reveals that after watching Andor you won’t believe that Rouge One: A Star Wars Story was possible.

“The only thing I can say is you’re going to see where he was five years before Rogue One, and you’re not going to believe Rogue One was possible,” Luna told us. “That’s the idea, to see a transformation and an awakening. I can’t tell you how that will be represented, you’ll have to wait until the 31st of August. But it is about that, and it’s about how much we’re all capable of changing and transforming, and that’s the beauty of storytelling. Not many times you start knowing the end, here you know what happens. It’s not about, like, ‘Oh this happened!’ No, no, it’s how it happened that matters. It’s about the little details and what’s in between lines and every layer of the character. Even though we are on a very epic kind of show and a huge spy adventure show, we’re going to have time for intimacy. You’re going to go deep into the character and the people around him. It’s going to be interesting, I think, and it’s going to be dark and fun and different from what you see out there now.”

Andor is streaming exclusively on Disney+ now!

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