The Incredible Deal Behind Darth Vader’s AI Voice

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29 segments

0:00

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

0:02

>> The estate of James Earl Jones, before

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he passed, I think did a deal with

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Disney. And he said, "Listen, for my

0:10

family, I would like to license the

0:12

Darth Vader voice for all time to

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Disney." They gave him some incredible

0:16

deal, and then they were left with,

0:18

"Well, how do we actually do this? Do we

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get a voice impersonator?" But instead,

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they went to you. Talk a little bit

0:22

about that deal and how it went down.

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>> The big use case, completely new

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experience, was in the gaming space

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where

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>> Ah, yes.

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>> uh Fortnite launched Darth Vader, which

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people and players could interact with

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live in partnership with the estate, in

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partnership with Disney.

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>> What does a blaster sound like?

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>> Something like pew pew, perhaps.

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>> So, every player, after reaching a

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certain stage, could have a Darth Vader

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interact and help you solve the

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missions. And we are seeing that kind of

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mode coming up more and more often of

0:49

how you can effectively extend your

0:51

likeness

Interactive Summary

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The video discusses the agreement between the estate of James Earl Jones and Disney to license the actor's voice as Darth Vader permanently. The conversation highlights the technical execution of this deal, specifically focusing on its application in the gaming industry, such as in Fortnite, where AI technology allows the character to interact with players in real-time.