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James Earl Jones Retires
The retirement of James Earl Jones from the role of Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga has caused fans to question whether the iconic character should be effectively retired as well. Jones’ vocal performance defined the menacing figure of Vader, making him one of the most feared villains in cinematic history. With his retirement, there is no clear replacement for him, making it a perfect opportunity to retire the character for good. Jones’ retirement announcement came at an ideal time, given the current state of the Star Wars saga’s development.
Continuing to include the character would spoil the impact of his departure and interfere with the necessary growth of the storyline. The timing of the announcement also allows Star Wars to retire the character with a flourish. However, fans need not despair, as Jones’ voice will live on through an AI program that can recreate his voice. Ukrainian startup Respeecher was tasked with creating a version of Jones’ voice for the recent Disney+ miniseries “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which takes place several years after Anakin Skywalker becomes a Sith lord.
Jones, who is 91 years old, signed off on Lucasfilm’s plans to continue to use his voice for Vader in the years to come through archival recordings and new dialogue created through AI. Jones was involved throughout the process of perfecting Vader’s voice for “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” helping guide the teams involved with recreating his sound and staying updated on Lucasfilm’s plans for Vader in the future. Lucasfilm has used AI before to revive certain characters’ voices, such as the younger voice of Luke Skywalker in “The Book of Boba Fett” on Disney+.
In 2016, Lucasfilm used CGI to recreate the visage of the late Peter Cushing’s villainous Grand Moff Tarkin for the prequel film “Rogue One,” though the character’s voice was provided by actor Guy Henry and not an AI program. James Earl Jones has voiced Vader since 1977’s “A New Hope,” though his role was uncredited for that project. Since then, he has provided Vader’s voice in every project in which the character appears, from the original trilogy to the animated series “Star Wars Rebels.” Jones’ signature bass voice has helped make Darth Vader an iconic villain, and his retirement marks the end of an era.
