Fortnite Reintroduces Darth Vader Featuring AI Voice of James Earl Jones

Fortnite is exploring exciting new grounds—reviving legendary figures from the past, at least in a digital sense.

On Friday, Epic Games revealed in a blog entry that Darth Vader has made his comeback to Fortnite’s primary Battle Royale mode as a recruitable boss character. Players can now ally with the renowned Sith Lord, who not only battles alongside them but also engages in voice dialogues—driven by artificial intelligence that mimics the voice of the late James Earl Jones.

Epic stated that the voice recreation was sanctioned by the estate of James Earl Jones, who is well-known for voicing Darth Vader. The estate released a statement clarifying the rationale behind this decision:

“James Earl believed that the voice of Darth Vader was integral to the narrative of Star Wars, and he always wished for fans of all ages to keep experiencing it. We hope that this partnership with Fortnite will provide both long-time admirers of Darth Vader and new audiences a chance to enjoy this legendary character.”

While the application of AI to replicate a deceased actor’s voice invites ethical concerns, it is important to mention that Jones had already consented to this type of usage back in 2022, prior to his death. This is not the first occurrence of such technology being utilized; Mashable has previously covered a similar instance involving the digital revival of Agatha Christie’s voice and appearance.

In Fortnite, players can inquire of Darth Vader about the Galactic Empire or the Force, and he will reply in-character using AI-generated responses. However, as is often seen with AI bots, it didn’t take long for someone to test the limits and prompt Vader to say something inappropriate.

To curb misuse, Epic has established safeguards. As per the game’s FAQ, Vader will not participate in romantic discussions or cover sensitive subjects like harming younglings. If a user brings up mental health or self-harm, the AI is designed to prompt them to seek assistance.

Currently, AI Darth Vader communicates solely in English. Epic indicates that the voice was developed using a mix of Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 AI models.

You can experience the AI-powered Darth Vader in Fortnite now—unless you’re accessing it on an iPhone, where the feature is not yet accessible.

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