James Earl Jones Secures Voice Immortality Through the Power of AI

A great icon went to heaven. But he ensured his voice would be felt for generations — and beyond. 

The legendary James Earl Jones passed away at 93 earlier this week (Sept. 9, 2024). However, Jones had already taken steps to ensure his voice would live on.

It all started in 2022 when Jones officially signed over the rights to Lucasfilm, which allowed the studio to recreate his iconic voice using artificial intelligence, according to Afrotech.

According to Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm wanted to keep Darth Vader’s legendary voice consistent with the original sound from the early Star Wars films. For this to happen, they teamed up with Respeecher, a Ukrainian tech company, which uses AI to recreate the iconic voice.

By "leveraging James Earl Jones’ past performances, they trained the speech model to capture his unique tone. Jones gave the green light to use his archives for the project.”

Jones unofficially began the process by voicing the character in every film after the original Star Wars. However, he retired from the role in 2019, which marked the start of the formal process.

And just a few years later, the Mufasa and Darth Vader voice passed away, unfortunately.

Hard to believe.

“Thank you dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best,” actor Colman Domingo said via X.

“I’m incredibly saddened to learn of #JamesEarlJones’ passing today. Legendary doesn’t even begin to describe his iconic roles and impact on cinema forever. His voice and talent will be remembered always. Sending love to his family, friends, and countless fans in all the galaxies, far, far away,” actress Octavia Spencer penned via Instagram.

There is a reason why people revered him.

The deep baritone-voiced star, who mastered his once stutter-riddled voice, would go on to hone his craft at the University of Michigan in the early 1950s. But failing a pre-med exam, he switched to drama and played four seasons of basketball. He would go on to serve in the Army from 1953 to 1955, according to Fortune.

Following Jones’ short stint in the armed forces, he moved to New York and stayed with his father, joining the American Theater Wing’s program for aspiring actors. The father-son duo worked together waxing floors to make ends meet while pursuing their acting careers.

It didn’t take long for the younger Jones to shine, though, landing lead roles in Shakespearean plays. In fact, his big screen debut came in 1964 when he played a B-52 bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s iconic Dr. Strangelove, according to CNN.

His famous career took off from there.