Fortnite players can now command Star Wars’ ultimate Sith Lord using their own voices — and hear Darth Vader respond in the iconic tones of actor James Earl Jones.
Following Jones’ passing in 2024, Epic Games and Disney have brought his voice back to life with a new feature that lets fans recruit and interact with Vader in-game. It’s worth noting: The potentially controversial addition, produced using generative AI technology, was sanctioned by Jones’ estate.
Replacing Darth Vader Samurai as a boss in Galactic Battle, the first team to recruit Vader in Battle Royale or Zero Build matches will be able to interact with him using a special on-screen “Darth Vader” button, asking him anything in real time. Behind the scenes, Epic Games says players’ voice input is securely transmitted to Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model, which generates Vader’s AI-driven response. That response is then brought to life in Jones’ voice using ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model.
This isn’t the first time Jones’ voice has been recreated for Star Wars. Jones signed off on using his archived voice-over work to build AI in 2022 before his passing, albeit for Respeecher, the company hired by Lucasfilm to develop a voicing solution for Vader. The tech was previously utilized in Disney Plus’ Obi-Wan series. Epic Games got consent from the Jones’ estate to use his renowned voice for their own recreation.
“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,” the Jones family said in a statement. “We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”
For those concerned about privacy, Epic Games emphasizes that players’ voice audio and transcriptions are not stored. If Darth Vader responds with something unexpected, players can report it, with Epic noting that only Vader’s responses are sent to them, not the players’ original voice input. If you are a parent and don’t trust little Timmy with the mechanics, parental control has been added to allow or disable voice or written communication with AI features. It can be accessed “via the in-game prompt, by going to the Parental Controls section of the Fortnite main menu, or in their child’s Epic Account Settings on the web,“ according to Epic’s FAQ page.
Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 3, titled Galactic Battle, is a full-blown Star Wars crossover. Throughout the season, the island is packed with Star Wars references—from iconic vehicles like the X-wing Starfighter, AT-AT, and Sandcrawler at new themed locations, to Star Destroyers looming overhead in the sky.
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