James Earl Jones‘s passing on September 9, 2024, left a massive wound in the hearts of film fans. He had one of the most incredible filmographies somebody could ask for, yet no character was more iconic and loomed larger over pop culture than Darth Vader, Jones’s defining role. The actor voiced the Star Wars villain turned tragic hero starting with the original Star Wars from 1977 to 2019 with The Rise of Skywalker.
In 2022, Jones retired from voicing Darth Vader but made a decision that now has major ramifications for the future of Star Wars and the more significant entertainment industry. During the production of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jones signed a deal with Lucasfilm authorizing archival recordings of his voice to be used in the future to generate the voice of Darth Vader artificially. Essentially, Darth Vader can appear in future Star Wars projects with Jones’s voice, even though the actor is no longer around.
The “future of Star Wars” is, of course, less important than the life of James Earl Jones and his legacy. He was a real person whose life is more than just Star Wars. The first thing fans should have thought of when they heard of his passing should not have been, “What does this mean for Star Wars and Darth Vader?”
Since Darth Vader is a mask with no facial features and a voice, in theory, the same complications don’t apply to Vader as they do with Luke Skywalker, since de-aging Mark Hamill tends to cross over into an uncanny valley. Yet, apart from practical complications, there are ethical complications. Jones’s decision to give Lucasfilm permission to voice Darth Vader is complicated, where a person needs to weigh the individual’s choice against the larger implications of an industry. Can fans accept Jones consented to this decision and still rightfully have a problem with Lucasfilm’s use of Jones’s voice?
Bringing Back Deceased Actors Has Become More Common, And That’s Troubling
The practice of using footage of an actor who has died has long been controversial since the Dirt Devil vacuum commercial featuring legendary actor Fred Astaire dancing with a Dirt Devil vacuum, as the vacuum is spliced into his old movies. Astaire’s daughter famously said, “saddened that after his wonderful career, he was sold to the devil.” While movies like Superman Returns brought back Marlon Brando as Jor-El with unused footage filmed for Superman: The Movie and Superman II, the act of using CGI to create entirely new performances by digitally recreating an actor has become a growing troubling presence over the past decade.
While Disney has made a name for itself by digitally de-aging actors from Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy to Michael Douglas in Ant-Man to Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tale, in 2016 with the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, they opened Pandora’s Box. They brought back the character of Grand Moff Tarkin despite Peter Cushing having died from cancer in 1994. Guy Henry served as Cushing’s body double on set, and the actor’s likeness was recreated using CGI. The effect was controversial at the time, but since then, more movies have used it to bring back deceased actors in major roles in films, from Harold Raimis in Ghostbusters: Afterlife to recently Ian Holm in Alien: Romulus.
Kevin Francis, a friend of Peter Cushing, is suing Lucasfilm through his film company. He also brought claims against Lunak Heavy Industries, the late executors of Cushing’s estate, and Cushing’s agency, Associated International Management. Francis claims he must give authorization for any recreation of Cushing’s image following an agreement between him and the actor that was made in 1993, one year before Cushing’s death at age 81. Lucasfilm claimed it didn’t think it needed permission to recreate Cushing’s image due to his original contract for 1977’s Star Wars and the nature of the special effects. However, they were later contacted by Cushing’s agent following a request for the recreation, and Lucasfilm agreed on a payment to the actor’s estate of around $37,000 to Cushing’s estate.
While the case is ongoing, it speaks to a few troubling natures. It is important for a studio to make a deal with an estate, as is the case with Ian Holm’s likeness being used for Alien: Romulus. Studios will do so without asking for permission, as it appears Christopher Reeves’s likeness as Superman for The Flash was used without contacting his children. The fact that Disney initially didn’t think they needed to contact the Cushing estate or compensate them until they were told otherwise is troubling on its own. Disney and others now can’t do this without the estate’s permission, as on September 2024, The California state Senate passed a law that requires consent for using dead performers’ likenesses for AI-created digital replicas.
James Earl Jones’s Decision
The decision to bring back a deceased actor tends to become moral, with many claiming it is a matter of consent. Some would say as long as the estate signed off on it, it is okay, while others would say regardless of whether the estate gives permission, it is still not justified as the original actors whose likeness is being used didn’t consent to the project in the first place. With James Earl Jones, it is different. Jones consented to Lucasfilm and Disney using an AI-created replication of his voice before he died. He explicitly gave Lucasfilm permission to use his voice, likely as a way to ensure that Darth Vader would continue after he passed.
Unlike Peter Cushing, who passed long before the idea of using CGI or AI to bring an actor back after they were gone was considered a viable option, Jones knew about the technology. He allowed Lucasfilm to use his voice for Darth Vader in whatever capacity they wanted, and we won’t sit here and argue that he didn’t have the right or was wrong to decide on his body. It is a cinematic organ donation. Yet the difference is that organ donations are essential and can save people’s lives. This is done to “save” a franchise or keep a popular character around as fans see it, and that feels gross to defend.
There is also uncertainty around the specifics of the contract. Do Lucasfilm and Disney only have permission and ownership of the voice for Darth Vader, or are they allowed to flex control over other already released James Earl Jones movies and request a percentage of profits from residuals? While that might sound outlandish, it certainly wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility for Disney to flex any potential contractual agreement.
Lucasfilm can use technology to have Darth Vader sound like James Earl Jones, but just because they could, does that mean they should?
Star Wars Needs to Let Darth Vader Go
At first, one would think this shouldn’t be an issue since Darth Vader died at the end of Return of the Jedi. Most of Disney’s recent Star Wars projects, like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and the sequel trilogy, have occurred after Vader’s death. Yet series like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor show that Lucasfilm does want to explore stories between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, stories where Vader can appear. While the passing of an actor in the past would make a creative team need to take a new approach or recast an iconic role, now Lucasfilm can roll out Darth Vader sounding like James Earl Jones. Should they, though?
While the idea of recasting Darth Vader seems sacrilegious to some, it’s not out of the question for Star Wars. James Earl Jones is not the only actor who can voice Darth Vader. He is the most iconic, but with how much Star Wars media there was, from video games to television ads, Lucasfilm had other voice actors fill in for Darth Vader. If they didn’t want another actor to voice Vader in a movie or television appearance, since that is seen as a more sacred ground than video games, then maybe that should be the incentive not to bring Darth Vader back.
Star Wars is a vast galaxy filled with potential, but they’ve run into a problem where the universe starts to feel smaller when they repeatedly return to the same core cast of characters. Darth Vader is a great villain, and arguably the best Star Wars will ever have, but that doesn’t mean they can’t create new villains for the franchise and new stories. The lack of Darth Vader made George Lucas create compelling new antagonists for the prequels, like Darth Maul, Count Dooku, or General Grievous.
Star Wars’ decision to constantly need to bring everything back to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa has started to become an issue. The promise that the sequel trilogy showed, introducing new exciting characters that could carry the franchise forward, has been rolled back to bring in old favorites. Yet when Star Wars embraces new characters, like The Mandalorian and Grogu, or even relatively new characters like Ahsoka Tano or Cassian Andor, they help the franchise grow. The original trilogy is still the best of the franchise; it will always be influential and always be there, but Star Wars needs not to be afraid to let go and move forward. Nobody will ever forget Darth Vader, and he will always be tied to Star Wars. Star Wars doesn’t always need to roll out Darth Vader or the digital necromancy of James Earl Jones’s voice.
When Darth Vader shows up, and Lucasfilm uses James Earl Jones’s voice from AI software, it will create a polarizing discussion. Some will say it is great to hear Jones’s voice again, while others will blast it as another case of studios and fans treating characters and actors as toys in an IP maintenance game where the brand is more important than the person. Despite Jones giving his consent to have his voice used for Darth Vader, many will say that Disney would consider this tactic creatively and morally bankrupt. There is no easy answer, only difficult ones.
