James Earl Jones steps back from Star Wars and Darth Vader role

James Earl Jones (the 91-year old voice of Darth Vader, among many other notable roles), is retiring from Star Wars and the role of the Dark Lord of the Sith. This information comes via Vanity Fair. On Friday, Vanity Fair featured a Ukrainian company that is developing AI to continue voicing this character.

Jones signed his consent to use his voice-over archive to create the AI at Respeecher. Respeecher was hired by Lucasfilm in order to provide a solution to Vader’s voice. “[Jones] had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood, the Lucasfilm sound editor working with Respeecher, told Vanity Fair. Wood called Jones “a benevolent godfather,” and said the two remain in close contact, discussing the AI project, with Jones giving his advice on how to preserve Vader’s legacy and his authentic voice.

Respeecher is headquartered in Kyiv and its work has been greatly affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and assaults on the capital city, which began Feb. 24. Respeecher managed to ship audio files for Vader’s role in Disney Plus’ Obi Wan Kenobi Vanity Fair covered the story that day. Though Wood, mindful of those developers’ safety, began pulling back on work requests to Respeecher, the response from Kyiv was, “Let’s work, let’s work in the face of this adversity, let’s persevere.”

Jones played Vader in the 1977 original film. However, other actors have played the role of Vader in video games and other adaptations. David Prowse wore Vader’s helmet and cloak for the first three films; Vader’s physical portrayal has since been handled by Hayden Christensen (in Obi Wan Kenobi, and 2005’s Revenge of the Sith and Spencer Wilding in 2017’s Rogue One.

Elsewhere in his prolific career, Jones has won a Grammy Award, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Academy Honorary Award, in 2011, “for his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility.”