If you ever wanted to talk to Darth Vader, it’s now possible in Fortnite. The hit game brings the famous Star Wars villain back to life using AI.
James Earl Jones, who voiced Vader, died last year. But his voice lives on through the AI-powered Darth Vader in Fortnite as an in-game character that can talk to you about all kinds of topics, similar to conversational AI. Just don’t expect him to be nice. The AI-powered character accurately captures Darth Vader’s domineering, hostile, and often belittling demeanor.
On Friday, social media was flooded with clips of Fortnite’s Darth Vader talking with players in Jones’s iconic voice. The effect can be hilarious since Vader will often ridicule players and even comment on modern-day topics common on Earth rather than the Star Wars universe.
“These ‘Skibidi toilets,’ are they some new form of Rebel Alliance?” the AI-powered Vader says in one clip, referencing a slang term used among kids.
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Fortnite’s developer, Epic Games, says it created the in-game character with permission from Jones’ estate. “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it,” his family said in a statement.
According to an FAQ, Epic Games tapped ElevenLabs, a text-to-speech AI voice provider, to generate Jones’ voice. In addition, the company is harnessing Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model, which is designed to power AI agents, to generate the responses for the Darth Vader character.
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The Gemini model is even able to help Darth Vader recognize actions from the player, or if they’ve assumed a skin, like a Dragon Ball character or Spider-Man.
Although the result is certainly amusing, the Darth Vader creation has also been spotted making some potentially controversial comments using Jones’ voice. “Spanish? A useful tongue for smugglers and spice traders. Its strategic value is minimal” the character says in one clip.
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One streamer was also able to trigger Darth Vader to repeat the F word. Vader then berated the streamer for speaking like a “common thug” for using the swear word. Many other gamers are also trying to find ways to “break” Vader and force him to curse.
But it looks like Epic Games is moving quickly to content moderate the AI-powered Vader. On the character ridiculing the Spanish language, Epic Games told PCMag: “The team has pushed a hotfix and we’ve now adjusted how he responds to non-English languages.” In the meantime, another player has recorded Vader denigrating Pride Month.
Fortnite players can access AI-powered Vader after defeating him as a boss in the game during a Battle Royale or Zero Build match. “Be the first to recruit him and your whole team will be able to take turns talking to the Dark Lord. Just remember to press the special Darth Vader button that’ll pop up to talk to him,” Epic says.
About Michael Kan
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