James Earl Jones Officially Retires from Voicing Darth Vader for the ‘Star Wars’ Franchise

Hannah
Hannah  - Editor/Instagram Manager
1 Min Read
Lucasfilm

After 45 years of lending his voice to build one of the most iconic fictional villains in cinematic history, James Earl Jones has retired from voicing Darth Vader for the Star Wars franchise.

Vanity Fair reports that the 91-year-old actor has signed over the rights to his voice to Disney and Lucasfilm so filmmakers, using new AI technology and archival recordings, can continue using his distinctive voice for Darth Vader for years to come.

Earl Jones made his debut as the ultimate Star Wars villain in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, and has voiced the character throughout the franchise on both the big and small screen. The most recent use of his voice was for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is a fantastic wrap on an incredible franchise career.

Earl Jones’ full career spans six decades and he is one of few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award (EGOT).

Follow Nerds & Beyond for additional Star Wars news.

Nerds and Beyond is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Share this Article
By Hannah Editor/Instagram Manager
Follow:
Hannah joined the team in May 2021. If she's not typing away on her keyboard about 'Star Wars', Spider-Man, or horror you can probably find her with a PlayStation controller in her hand. Hasn't stopped crying about Arthur Morgan since 2018 with no plans to stop anytime soon and is convinced she could survive more than five nights at Freddy's. At her core, she's really just an aspiring vampire juice box. Based in Denver, CO.
Leave a comment