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After 45 years, James Earl Jones is saying goodbye to the galaxy far, far away by officially retiring from Star Wars.
According to Vanity Fair, Jones has signed the voice rights to his character Darth Vader over to Lucasfilm and Respeecher. The latter is a Ukranian company that uses archival recordings and an A.I. program to create new dialogue with the voices of performers who have either aged out of their roles or have passed away. This method was recently used to recreate the voice of a young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) for The Book of Boba Fett and to mimic Vader's voice, which Jones has now aged out of, for his scenes in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Matthew Wood, a sound editor at Lucasfilm, has recorded Jones' voice numerous times throughout his 32-year career with the company, the latest being for The Rise of Skywalker. When Wood showed Jones Respeecher's capabilities, the actor agreed to sign over the rights to his voice to keep Vader alive. "[James] had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character," Wood said. "So how do we move forward?" Though many studios recast voice actors when the original performer can no longer play the part, Jones' distinct sound has become synonymous with Vader.
James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Legacy
George Lucas first hired Jones to dub over the voice of David Prowse, the actor who played Vader on set, during post-production for 1977's A New Hope. Though the job earned Jones just $7,000 at the time, it turned the actor into a household name. Jones has since voiced the iconic villain in more than a dozen Star Wars-related projects.
www.cbr.com
According to Vanity Fair, Jones has signed the voice rights to his character Darth Vader over to Lucasfilm and Respeecher. The latter is a Ukranian company that uses archival recordings and an A.I. program to create new dialogue with the voices of performers who have either aged out of their roles or have passed away. This method was recently used to recreate the voice of a young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) for The Book of Boba Fett and to mimic Vader's voice, which Jones has now aged out of, for his scenes in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Matthew Wood, a sound editor at Lucasfilm, has recorded Jones' voice numerous times throughout his 32-year career with the company, the latest being for The Rise of Skywalker. When Wood showed Jones Respeecher's capabilities, the actor agreed to sign over the rights to his voice to keep Vader alive. "[James] had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character," Wood said. "So how do we move forward?" Though many studios recast voice actors when the original performer can no longer play the part, Jones' distinct sound has become synonymous with Vader.
James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Legacy
George Lucas first hired Jones to dub over the voice of David Prowse, the actor who played Vader on set, during post-production for 1977's A New Hope. Though the job earned Jones just $7,000 at the time, it turned the actor into a household name. Jones has since voiced the iconic villain in more than a dozen Star Wars-related projects.
James Earl Jones Signs Over Darth Vader's Voice Rights, Retiring From Star Wars
James Earl Jones, the iconic voice of Star Wars' Darth Vader, signs over the character's voice rights after 45 years, thus retiring from the role.
www.cbr.com
