SAG-AFTRA has filed a complaint against Epic Games for recreating James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader performance in ‘Fortnite’ – claiming the studio “chose to replace the work of human performers with AI technology”.
SAG-AFTRA has filed a complaint against Epic Games for recreating James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader performance in ‘Fortnite’.
The battle royale title has brought over the Sith Lord as part of the ‘Star Wars: Galactic Battle’ collaboration, where players can talk to Vader, which uses artificial intelligence to mimic the late James Earl Jones’ voice as the character.
However, SAG-AFTRA has now complained Epic’s Llama Productions “chose to replace the work of human performers with AI technology”, and “did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms”.
In a statement given to Variety, the union said: “We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles.
“However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.”
SAG-AFTA has since filed an unfair labour practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
Disney has insisted that Epic “securely processes the voice audio to generate Vader’s responses, but audio and transcriptions of the conversation are not stored”.
Before his passing in 2024 at the age of 93, Jones signed an agreement with Lucasfilm to allow the studio to utilise his archival voice recordings for future ‘Star Wars’ projects.
Disney, Lucasfilm and Epic said the late actor’s family had also given Epic permission to use his Darth Vader performance in ‘Fortnite’.
Darth Vader AI voice in Fortnite receives complaint from SAG-AFTRA
