Vanity Fair reports that a Ukrainian company is developing an AI that will continue to give the character a voice.
Jones signed off on the use of his archived voiceover work to build the AI at Respeecher, the company hired by Lucasfilm to develop a voice solution for Vader.
Matthew Wood, the Lucasfilm sound editor who works with Respeeche had this to say:
“[Jones] had mentioned that he was looking to kill off this particular character,” a benevolent godfather told Vanity Fair.
He said the two remain in close contact, discussing the AI project, with Jones giving his advice on how to preserve Vader’s legacy and his authentic voice.
Respeecher is based in Kyiv and her work has been greatly affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the attacks on the capital city, which began on February 24.
Respeecher managed to submit audio files for the role of Vader in Disney Plus’s Obi-Wan Kenobi that day.
Although Wood, mindful of the safety of those developers, began withdrawing Respeecher’s job applications, Kyiv’s response was: “Let’s work, let’s work in the face of this adversity, let’s persevere.”
The iconic voice behind Darth Vader
Jones has played Vader since the initial 1977 film, though the character has been voiced by others in video games and other adapted works since then.
David Prowse wore Vader’s helmet and cape in the first three films; Since then, Vader’s physical representation has been handled by Hayden Christensen (in 2005’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Revenge of the Sith) and Spencer Wilding in 2017’s Rogue One.
Elsewhere in his prolific career, Jones won a Grammy Award, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Academy Honorary Award in 2011, “for his legacy of consistent excellence and rare versatility.”
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