Is there anything more iconic than hearing the words “I am your father” in James Earl Jones’ raspy, deep voice? Probably not, but the actor is reportedly leaving Darth Vader in his past. At least personally, but fear not, Darth Vader will live on and his voice will still be Jones’.
Matthew Wood, a sound engineer for Star Wars, recently spoke to Vanity Fair about recreating the iconic voice for Obi-Wan Kenobi as well as the voice of young Luke Skywalker for The Book Of Boba Fett. Disney used Ukrainian-based voice cloning company Respeecher in order to recreate both voices for their new TV shows.
Talking about Jones’ involvement with the franchise, Wood said: “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character”. Jones is now 91 and as expected, his voice has drastically changed over the years.
Darth Vader is one of cinema’s most iconic characters. Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Jones first portrayed Darth Vader, aka the older Anakin Skywalker, in 1977’s Star Wars, although he was uncredited, but his voice has since become historic as one of the most instantly recognisable voices.
As reported by the BBC, Jones has seemingly given permission to Disney and Lucasfilm to keep using his voice by means of AI and technology. This would allow for the character to stay alive and vocally unchanged even if Jones won’t be physically recording any lines in person.
