In a surprising update to the story of AI Darth Vader recently being added to Fortnite, SAG-AFTRA has now filed an Unfair Labor Practice lawsuit.
Unfair Labor Practice Against AI Darth Vader
Just last week, Epic Games officially launched a new conversational feature in the game Fortnite that featured Darth Vader from “Star Wars.” Darth Vader had already appeared in Fortnite in various forms, so his return as a boss in Battle Royale wasn’t overly new. However, the part that drew immediate attention is that the new Darth Vader is powered by AI.
The voice behind the recruitable Darth Vader character is actually James Earl Jones, who legally signed over all the AI rights for his vocal performance prior to his death in 2024. The AI model used for the Fortnite feature is Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model for dialogue and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model for audio.
The addition of an AI-powered character in the game drew some controversy, especially when Fortnite had to quickly push out a patch to keep the character from swearing. However, players can still ask Vader many different questions, and the AI-powered voice will respond with appropriate phrases, offer battle advice, or comment on “Star Wars” lore.
In a recent update to the official SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) website, the guild has officially filed a Unfair Labor Practice lawsuit. In an included statement, SAG -AFTRA explained they are making this decision to protect the rights and previous work of the guild members who have already matched “Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.” They go on to explain that the work of human performers was replaced with AI without “providing any notice of their intent to do this.”
The full SAG-AFTRA statement can be read below:
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.
SAG-AFTRA
The full filing officially lists Llama Productions LLC, which is wholly owned by Epic Games.
The included Basis of the Charge states, ” Within the past six months, the Employer, by its agents and representatives, failed and refused to bargain in good faith with the union by making unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment, without providing notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain, by utilizing AI-generated voices to replace bargaining unit work on the Interactive Program Fortnite.”
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, dancers, writers, program hosts, recording artists, voiceover artists, and many other entertainment and media professionals.
What do you think of AI Darth Vader in Fortnite? Let us know in the comments.
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