James Earl Jones’ booming baritone is one of the most recognizable voices in history. Whether he’s reminding us that CNN still exists as a news network, or one of his many other voice roles, he’ll always be known for giving voice to the epitome of the Dark Side of the Force, Darth Vader. But at the age of 91, Jones’ time as Vader appears to be at an end.
According to a new Vanity Fair story, Jones has signed over the rights for Lucasfilm to recreate his voice using new AI and archival footage. The news was confirmed by Lucasfilm’s Matthew Wood who said “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character. So how do we move forward?”
Furthermore, Jones didn’t actually do any new voice work for Vader’s lines in Disney’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series, although he received credit for the recreation.
Jones’ retirement truly marks the end of a legendary run of one actor on a single character. He first voiced Darth Vader in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, and continued through the entire trilogy. He would return years later for the prequel trilogy, voicing Vader in Revenge of the Sith. Jones returned for more recent films Rogue One and The Last Jedi, while appearing a few times in Star Wars Rebels. Jones took on the role in other projects, as well, from TV specials to video games.