Since the beginning of Star Wars, James Earl Jones has been the voice of Darth Vader, but at the age of 91, he is ready to have the work done for him. According to a report from Vanity Fair, Jones allowed the Ukrainian startup Respeecher to use artificial intelligence to recreate his voice in Disney Plus' Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Respeecher uses sound bites to clone an actor's voice and allow a studio to record new lines. Matthew Wood told Vanity Fair that he presented Jones with the option once he mentioned he was looking into winding down the role of Darth Vader. According to Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm asked Respeecher to make Vader sound like Jones in Disney Plus' Obi-Wan.
Vader sounds a lot like he did in the earlier films in Obi-Wan as opposed to Jones' voice in The Rise of Skywalker. Wood says Jones still helps guide the studio's depiction of the villain despite the use of artificial intelligence.
Respeecher has previously worked with Lucasfilms. The startup gave a voice to the younger version of the character in two Disney movies. In a press release, Respeecher explains that it used clips from many early years' worth of radio broadcasts, interviews, ADRs, and Dubs to recreate Skywalker's voice.
Voicemod, Veritone, Descript, and Resemble are some of the speech synthesis tools that could be used to recreate voices. The trend could become popular among celebrities who want to boost their income by cloning and renting out their voice. The voice of one of the most famous villains in film could be preserved.
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