After over four decades of serving as the definitive voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, voice actor James Earl Jones is finally relinquishing his duties. It was revealed over the weekend that the 91-year-old actor is retiring from his Vader role and has handed over the reins to Lucasfilm and Disney to make use of AI, meaning we'll still get to hear his iconic voice with the help of new technology despite him not being directly involved in voicing the beloved villain.
Despite the apparent silverling of Jones' Darth Vader retirement, Star Wars fans are still incredibly upset over the reality that he is officially stepping away from the franchise, and understandably so. Following the official confirmation, diehard followers of the franchise took to Twitter to shower James with love and appreciation as the end of an era is truly being felt all over the galaxy. Check out some of the tweets below:
Also Read: Star Wars: James Earl Jones Retires as Darth Vader Voice
In case you weren't aware, James Earl Jones was credited for voicing Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi but that was actually the first time Lucasfilm utilized their new AI technology to use his voice likeness. Now, future Star Wars projects involving the iconic Sith Lord will obviously make use of the same method and it's definitely going to take a lot of getting used to.
Speaking of the menacing villain, it is rumored that Darth Vader will actually be making a cameo appearance in the upcoming Ahsoka series starring Rosario Dawson.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming on Disney+.
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