A look at Kyiv-based Respeecher, which uses performers' archival voice recordings and AI to create new dialogue, including for Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi
The Kyiv company’s work matters because it applies that approach to an established character voice, where continuity is central to the production rather than a generic narration task.
First-order effects
Respeecher and the Obi-Wan Kenobi production can generate new Darth Vader dialogue from James Earl Jones’s archival recordings, reducing dependence on newly recorded lines for that character voice.
Respeecher gains a high-profile demonstration of archival-voice synthesis in scripted entertainment, alongside its broader AI voice work.
Second-order effects
Voice-AI vendors such as WellSaid Labs and VocaliD face stronger evidence that custom voices can serve character-driven media as well as assistants, games, and corporate video.
Film localization providers using performer samples, including Deepdub, gain a closely related precedent for preserving a recognizable voice across production workflows.
Third-order effects
If studios increasingly treat archival recordings as reusable production inputs, voice performance workflows may shift toward managing and synthesizing existing voice libraries alongside new recording sessions.
The same capability that extends familiar screen voices also broadens the stakes of voice-cloning governance, a concern highlighted by later coverage of ElevenLabs’ technology and its potential to fuel political chaos.
The trend: Voice AI is moving from bespoke synthetic voices toward production tools that preserve and extend recognizable performers’ voices across entertainment formats.
👀"...the 91-year-old actor has signed off on archival voice recordings being used by young filmmakers, who plan to utilize [A.I.] synthetic speech technology to recreate Jones' younger voice from his previous films for future Lucasfilm projects." https://variety.com/...
James Earl Jones retiring from playing Darth Vader shouldn't be a total shock. He's 91 now. Just how much longer do you think he'd be able to do it anyway? Sounds like they've found the perfect way for his voice to live on forever. https://variety.com/...
This story is so nauseating and I don't really have the words to describe it. An actor's iconic life work should not become a literal ghost in the machine to serve a corporate monopoly's insatiable thirst for product and content. https://twitter.com/...
I have this strange feeling that we're approaching that tipping point of no return where the world just changes in dramatic ways, large and small, because of general AI proliferation. It feels like 1994, before Netscape Navigator came out and changed everything. https://twitter.c…
James Earl Jones has been the voice of Darth Vader for 45 years yet I've not seen him embraced by the fandom or Lucas Film like any other cast member or popular voice actor. I remember noticing him missing in press tours for the prequels in the 1990s. https://www.theverge.com/...
If Disney is so hellbent on cast consistency in an almost 50 year old franchise, I would honestly rather they pitifully remade the saga with new, young actors instead of removing the last human element the franchise has left https://twitter.com/...
Lucasfilm is using AI to recreate Darth Vader's voice for their Obi-Wan Kenobi film. This article frames the move as heroic—because it involves a Ukrainian audio AI firm—but maybe it's not actually that awesome. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Actors recreated through VFX, voices recreated through AIs. This all sucks and is going to have consequences the more it's normalized, especially when you have a monopolist like Disney steering it. https://variety.com/...
This is a death knell for the voiceover industry. The repercussions are horrifying. They're 100% going to be using actors' voices after their death. https://variety.com/...
The state of vocal/audio deepfakes is such that even highly-recognizable, unique voices can be accurately recreated in the middle of a war zone. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
reading this is very cyberpunk hellscape future....people were trying to survive bombings to recreate the voice of an old man who has retired for a tv show....this feels so wrong.... https://twitter.com/...
I was today years old when I learned that the voice of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader now comes from Ukraine. Invasion or no invasion. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
I'm honestly conflicted here. At least he was ok with it, but at the same time, just get a damn soundalike instead of your AI zombies We know you have the money, mouse https://twitter.com/...
FASCINATING. Robin Williams was the first performer I ever heard of expressly stipulating that his estate *not* do anything like this. So in the future I can tell my kids a real robot does the voice of Darth Vader now but we can YouTube the original guy, he was great. https://twi…