Darth Vader’s Iconic Voice Returns to Fortnite Through AI

LOS ANGELES, California — The iconic voice of Darth Vader will return to the popular video game Fortnite, thanks to advanced AI technology. The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games announced on May 16, 2025, that players can now recruit and engage in conversations with Darth Vader within the game, utilizing a re-created voice of the late James Earl Jones.

The re-creation is achieved through collaboration with the family of Jones, who passed away in 2024. In a statement, his family expressed that “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it.” They added, “We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”

According to Epic Games, the voice responses from Darth Vader will be generated using Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model, while the audio will be produced by ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model. This marks a significant shift from previous games, where voice actors would mimic Jones’ unique tone.

“James Earl Jones’ legendary vocal performance is a defining element of what makes Darth Vader one of the most iconic characters in cinematic history,” said Sean Shoptaw, Executive Vice President of Disney Games and Digital Entertainment. He noted that the move illustrates how emerging technologies are transforming storytelling in the entertainment sector.

The new feature requires players under 13, or those below their country’s digital age of consent, to obtain parental permission to interact with Vader. The game will securely process audio from players to generate responses, but it will not store that data to train AI models. Players will also have the ability to report anything said by Darth Vader in-game.

Adam Sussman, President of Epic Games, highlighted the collaboration, stating, “We are excited to introduce a new and immersive way for players to interact with a legendary Star Wars character.” Epic Games and Disney are also working on new episodes of an animated Star Wars series set to be integrated into Fortnite.

The addition of Darth Vader has generated excitement among fans, though it has not been without hiccups. Some players have already created content where the character unintentionally swore, prompting Epic Games to implement fixes and additional safety measures. They assured that any violations of community standards would be monitored closely.