SAG-AFTRA union lashes out at Epic for Fortnite's AI-powered Darth Vader
, by Thibaut
Last week, Epic Games revealed that Darth Vader was making his grand return in Fortnite. Players have the opportunity to talk with the famous villain of the Star Wars universe, who gives personalized responses thanks to generative AI.
For this, Epic used the voice of the iconic James Earl Jones, who died in September 2024. This was not to the liking of SAG-AFTRA, an American union representing over 160,000 actors, extras and media professionals worldwide.
While Epic has obtained permission from the family of James Earl Jones to use his voice, the union deplores this method, accusing the publisher of depriving other actors in the industry of work.
SAG-AFTRA issued quite a lengthy statement on the matter this Monday.
"We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles."
"However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader's iconic rhythm and tone in video games."
"Fortnite's signatory company, Llama Productions, chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology. Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms. As such, we have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against Llama Productions."
Epic still has to say anything on the matter.
Source: sagaftra.org