SAG-AFTRA files unfair labor charge against use of Darth Vader’s voice in ‘Fortnite’
The voice of James Earl Jones of Dark Vader is one of the most recognizable sounds in the history of cinema – and now he is at the center of a struggle concerning the use of artificial intelligence.
On Monday, Hollywood Actors Guild Sag-Aftra tabled a unfair work accusation on the use of an AI version of the emblematic voice of the bad “Star Wars” in the massively popular “Fortnite” video game.
Last week, “Fortnite” began to allow players to recruit Dark Vader in their teams and to speak to him in turn using the technology of the conversational AI which reproduces the tone and models of Jones speech for the character created by George Lucas. “Fortnite” belongs to Developer Epic Games.
Sag-Aftra filed the complaint against Llama Productions, a subsidiary of Epic who works on “Fortnite”.
“Fortnite Signatory Company, Llama Productions, has chosen to replace the work of human artists with AI technology,” said SAG-AFTRA in a press release. “Unfortunately, they did it without giving an opinion of their intention to do so and without negotiating with us on appropriate conditions.”
Epic Games did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Jones had allowed Lucasfilm and Disney to use AI and archivism recordings to reproduce the actor’s voice as Dark Vader for future “Star Wars” projects. Jones died in September. “Fortnite” said that he had received authorization from the Jones domain to include his voice in the game.
“James Earl estimated that Dark Vader’s voice was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to live it,” the family of James Earl Jones said in a statement published on the “Fortnite” site last week. “We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Dark Vador and more recent generations to share the pleasure of this emblematic character.”
SAG-AFTRA said in a statement that he celebrates the rights of its members and their areas to control digital aftershocks.
“However, we must protect our right to negotiate the terms and conditions around the uses of the voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the job to match the emblematic rhythm and tone of Dark Vador in video games,” said the performers Guild.
AI remains a controversial subject in Hollywood, because the actors and writers have raised concerns about rapid growth technology that harms their work. In 2023, the actors and the writers went on strike to fight for more protections in their contracts which responded to their concerns concerning artificial intelligence.
The use of “Fortnite” of the voice of Dark Vader was not without other hiccups. Business Insider underlined an example of the place where the voice was seen by saying that the word F of the game and a spokesperson for the epic games told Business Insider that a correction had been made to prevent Dark Vador from cursing within 30 minutes of the game.
