Disney and Epic Games Use AI to Revive Darth Vader’s Voice in Fortnite

by Annika May 19, 2025

Disney and Epic Games have announced a partnership that brings the voice of late actor James Earl Jones back to life in the character of Darth Vader. The iconic voice will be recreated through generative AI in consultation with Jones’ family, which was revealed in a blog post. Darth Vader will be available in Disney’s flagship game, Fortnite, starting today, with dialogue crafted by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model and audio generation by ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model. The move marks a significant development in the use of AI in the entertainment industry.

Disney and Epic Games Use AI to Revive Darth Vader’s Voice in Fortnite

– The Walt Disney Co. and Epic Games have announced that players of Fortnite can now recruit and interact with Darth Vader, speaking with the voice of the late James Earl Jones, recreated using generative AI.
– The dialogue and audio are created by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model, with the approval and collaboration of Jones’ estate.
– The addition highlights how AI is changing the entertainment industry, pushing the boundaries of character interaction in games while also highlighting the importance of consent and protection for creators and players.

Last year saw the passing of James Earl Jones, but his timeless voice is set to live on through innovative technology.

The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games announced that from today, players of their popular game Fortnite will now be able to engage with the character Darth Vader, voiced by an AI creation of Jones.

Darth Vader will speak through the use of generative AI, a process approved with the full cooperation of the late actor’s family. The dialogue, generated by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model, and the audio, derived from ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model, will bring life to the much-loved character in the gaming world.

A representative of Jones’ family said, “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the Star Wars saga and it was a wish of his that the fans continue to enjoy it. We believe this collaboration with Fortnite will bring joy to both long-time Darth Vader fans and newer generations alike.”

Since his death, uncertainty has existed around the use of Jones’ voice in film and media. Notably, he lent his iconic voice to classic characters such as Vader and Mufasa from The Lion King. Ensuring the rightful use of a likeness requires careful negotiation with the estates involved.

This innovative approach illustrates the exciting capabilities of generative AI within the entertainment industry. Previous games produced during Jones lifetime typically used voice actors to mimic his unique sound.

In unveiling this development, Disney and Epic indicated that their focus remains firmly on transparency, consent, and safety, in order to protect creators, Disney IP, and their players in interactive experiences.

Epic also outlined certain safeguards, including that players below the age of 13 or the digital age of consent in their country will require permission to interact with Vader. Users can report any potentially inappropriate dialogue from the character in the game. Moreover, while a user’s voice will be processed by Gemini to generate responses, it will not be stored for any future AI training.

Pointing to the significance of the move, Sean Shoptaw, executive VP Disney Games and Digital Entertainment, said, “James Earl Jones’ extraordinary voice performance was key in securing Darth Vader as one of the most iconic characters in cinema. It is an honour for Disney, Lucasfilm, and Epic Games to bring his voice to Fortnite for millions of our players to enjoy as we utilise emerging technologies responsibly in a way that puts people at the center of the creative process.”

Epic’s president, Adam Sussman, added, “With the most expansive Star Wars collaboration to date, we are thrilled to provide a new, immersive way for our players to connect with this Star Wars icon. Now, players have the opportunity to converse in real time with Darth Vader in Fortnite, one of the most unforgettable characters in cinematic history.”

The announcement builds on an existing partnership between Disney and Epic Games under the “Galactic Battle” season of Fortnite. The partnership has already seen the debut of upcoming episodes of an animated Star Wars series on Disney+ within Fortnite gameplay.

Last year marked a significant step in the partnership with Disney’s investment of $1.5 billion in Epic, to develop a new in-game universe featuring Disney IP. This project remains under development.