Last
month,
veteran
actor
James
Earl
Jones
passed
away
at
93.
Along
with
his
many
acting
roles,
he
was
also
known
for
his
voice
roles,
notably
as
Mufasa
in
“The
Lion
King”
and
Darth
Vader
in
the
“Star
Wars”
franchise.
Typically
when
voice
actors
leave
their
roles,
they
are
replaced.
For
example,
in
the
original
1986
“The
Transformers:
The
Movie,”
the
new
Decepticon
leader
Galvatron
was
voiced
by
Leonard
Nimoy.
But
in
the
subsequent
cartoons,
Galvatron
was
voiced
by
Frank
Welker
as
Nimoy
had
died.
Other
times,
the
character
they
portrayed
is
written
out
of
the
show.
The
famous
Kermit
The
Frog
has
an
“official”
voice
actor.
Originally,
it
was
Muppets
creator
Jim
Henson
until
his
death
in
1990.
Afterward,
Steve
Whitmire
took
the
role
until
2016.
Matt
Vogel
replaced
Whitmire
in
2017
and
to
this
day
is
Kermit’s
official
voice.
But
in
rare
cases,
the
voice
actor
is
just
as
famous
as
the
character
they
portray.
In
the
case
of
Darth
Vader,
while
James
Earl
Jones
was
his
voice,
British
actor
David
Prowse
was
his
body.
Prowse
spoke
Vader’s
lines
during
filming
and
his
distinct
English
West
Country
accent
had
some
cast
members
calling
him
“Darth
Farmer.”
With
Jones’s
passing,
fans
may
or
may
not
accept
someone
else
playing
the
voice
of
Vader.
But
Lucasfilm
was
able
to
find
a
way
to
keep
the
feared
Sith
Lord’s
voice
alive.
According
to
Vanity
Fair,
in
2022,
Lucasfilm
and
Skywalker
Sound
hired
a
Ukrainian
startup
called
Respeech
to
recreate
Darth
Vader’s
voice
for
its
upcoming
mini-series
“Obi-Wan
Kenobi.”
At
the
time,
Jones
was
91
and
wanted
to
retire
the
Vader
role
as
his
voice
was
no
longer
the
same.
Through
artificial
intelligence
(AI),
Respeech
used
archived
Star
Wars
footage
to
recreate
Darth
Vader’s
voice
from
the
original
1980s
trilogy.
All
of
this
was
done
even
during
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine
that
year.
When
Jones
was
presented
with
Respeech’s
work,
he
signed
off
on
using
his
archival
voice
recordings
to
keep
Vader
alive.
I
watched
“Obi-Wan
Kenobi”
when
it
premiered,
not
knowing
Darth
Vader’s
voice
was
AI
generated.
At
the
time,
I
thought
Jones’s
voice
was
just
as
strong
even
at
his
advanced
age.
But
now,
after
knowing
about
the
AI
involvement,
I
was
curious
about
the
legalities.
I
wondered
about
what
was
contained
in
the
contract
that
Jones
signed
off
on.
Who
did
Jones
contract
with?
Lucasfilm,
Respeech,
Skywalker
Sound,
or
all
of
the
above?
Did
he
only
sign
off
his
archival
voice
rights
just
for
“Obi-Wan
Kenobi”?
Or
did
he
relinquish
these
rights
in
perpetuity?
And
lastly,
was
there
even
a
need
for
this
contract?
In
other
words,
isn’t
Darth
Vader’s
voice
inherently
a
part
of
Star
Wars’
intellectual
property?
In
the
future,
AI
voice
replication
technology
will
improve,
allowing
iconic
actors
to
live
on
through
their
characters,
and
after
they
pass
away,
their
families
could
get
additional
residuals.
But
it
is
debatable
as
to
whether
AI
is
no
different
than
a
good
human
voice
impersonator.
And
this
means
one
(or
more)
actor
who
could
have
been
a
voice
replacement
could
be
out
of
a
job.
Indeed,
AI
was
a
major
point
of
contention
in
the
actors
and
writers
strike
in
2023
as
it
could
potentially
eliminate
the
need
for
human
actors
altogether.
Thankfully
this
does
not
appear
to
be
an
immediate
threat
since
current
AI
generated
movies
seem
to
be
incoherent
or
tend
to
look
like
nightmare
fuel.
Maybe
a
good
starting
point
is
to
require
studios
to
disclose
whether
movies
or
shows
are
using
AI
actors
and
writers.
And
I
am
not
talking
about
disclosing
it
in
a
fine
line
somewhere
in
the
middle
of
the
end
credits.
It
should
be
displayed
prominently
in
trailers
and
promotional
material.
Customers
should
know
in
advance
so
they
can
determine
whether
they
want
to
support
it.
Actors
and
their
agents
will
have
to
scrutinize
studio
contracts
to
ensure
that
their
likeness
(including
their
voices)
cannot
be
used
by
AI
(or
even
CGI)
without
their
permission
after
they
finish
a
project.
Jones
has
entered
the
cornfield
after
completing
the
circle
of
life.
But
Darth
Vader’s
voice
is
still
available
in
this
galaxy
thanks
to
AI.
But
since
AI
could
affect
the
livelihoods
of
many,
all
stakeholders
in
the
entertainment
industry
(and
possibly
even
lawmakers)
will
need
to
discuss
how
this
technology
could
be
used
in
a
way
that
doesn’t
screw
anybody
over.
Steven
Chung
is
a
tax
attorney
in
Los
Angeles,
California.
He
helps
people
with
basic
tax
planning
and
resolve
tax
disputes.
He
is
also
sympathetic
to
people
with
large
student
loans.
He
can
be
reached
via
email
at
[email protected].
Or
you
can
connect
with
him
on
Twitter
(@stevenchung)
and
connect
with
him
on LinkedIn.