Artificial Intelligence Can Make Iconic Characters Immortal But It Can Create Legal Problems For Studios And Actors
James Earl Jones has entered the cornfield after completing the circle of life. But Darth Vader’s voice is still available in this galaxy thanks to AI.
Last month, veteran actor James Earl Jones passed away at 93. Along with his many acting roles, he was also known for his voice roles, notably as Mufasa in “The Lion King” and Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” franchise.
Typically when voice actors leave their roles, they are replaced. For example, in the original 1986 “The Transformers: The Movie,” the new Decepticon leader Galvatron was voiced by Leonard Nimoy. But in the subsequent cartoons, Galvatron was voiced by Frank Welker as Nimoy had died. Other times, the character they portrayed is written out of the show.
The famous Kermit The Frog has an “official” voice actor. Originally, it was Muppets creator Jim Henson until his death in 1990. Afterward, Steve Whitmire took the role until 2016. Matt Vogel replaced Whitmire in 2017 and to this day is Kermit’s official voice.
But in rare cases, the voice actor is just as famous as the character they portray. In the case of Darth Vader, while James Earl Jones was his voice, British actor David Prowse was his body. Prowse spoke Vader’s lines during filming and his distinct English West Country accent had some cast members calling him “Darth Farmer.”
With Jones’s passing, fans may or may not accept someone else playing the voice of Vader. But Lucasfilm was able to find a way to keep the feared Sith Lord’s voice alive.
According to Vanity Fair, in 2022, Lucasfilm and Skywalker Sound hired a Ukrainian startup called Respeech to recreate Darth Vader’s voice for its upcoming mini-series “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” At the time, Jones was 91 and wanted to retire the Vader role as his voice was no longer the same. Through artificial intelligence (AI), Respeech used archived Star Wars footage to recreate Darth Vader’s voice from the original 1980s trilogy.
All of this was done even during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that year.
When Jones was presented with Respeech’s work, he signed off on using his archival voice recordings to keep Vader alive.
I watched “Obi-Wan Kenobi” when it premiered, not knowing Darth Vader’s voice was AI generated. At the time, I thought Jones’s voice was just as strong even at his advanced age.
But now, after knowing about the AI involvement, I was curious about the legalities.
I wondered about what was contained in the contract that Jones signed off on. Who did Jones contract with? Lucasfilm, Respeech, Skywalker Sound, or all of the above? Did he only sign off his archival voice rights just for “Obi-Wan Kenobi”? Or did he relinquish these rights in perpetuity? And lastly, was there even a need for this contract? In other words, isn’t Darth Vader’s voice inherently a part of Star Wars’ intellectual property?
In the future, AI voice replication technology will improve, allowing iconic actors to live on through their characters, and after they pass away, their families could get additional residuals. But it is debatable as to whether AI is no different than a good human voice impersonator.
And this means one (or more) actor who could have been a voice replacement could be out of a job. Indeed, AI was a major point of contention in the actors and writers strike in 2023 as it could potentially eliminate the need for human actors altogether. Thankfully this does not appear to be an immediate threat since current AI generated movies seem to be incoherent or tend to look like nightmare fuel.
Maybe a good starting point is to require studios to disclose whether movies or shows are using AI actors and writers. And I am not talking about disclosing it in a fine line somewhere in the middle of the end credits. It should be displayed prominently in trailers and promotional material. Customers should know in advance so they can determine whether they want to support it.
Actors and their agents will have to scrutinize studio contracts to ensure that their likeness (including their voices) cannot be used by AI (or even CGI) without their permission after they finish a project.
Jones has entered the cornfield after completing the circle of life. But Darth Vader’s voice is still available in this galaxy thanks to AI. But since AI could affect the livelihoods of many, all stakeholders in the entertainment industry (and possibly even lawmakers) will need to discuss how this technology could be used in a way that doesn’t screw anybody over.
Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.
