SAG-AFTRA has filed an unfair labor practice charge over Controversies surrounding AI Darth Vader in Fortnite immediately surfaced after it was implemented last week, with the recreation of Jones' iconic role being prompted to swear, use slurs, and more.

The use of Jones' voice in Fortnite was granted permission by the late actor's estate, but SAG-AFTRA has filed an unfair labor practice charge regardless. The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists filed the ULP against Llama Productions, Fortnite's signatory company, according to a press release from the labor union. SAG-AFTRA also represents video game voice and motion capture artists, and the union says it "must protect our right to bargain and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our , including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader's iconic rhythm and tone in video games."

A copy of the entire filing can be read on the SAG-AFTRA website. According to the filing, Fortnite "chose to replace the work of human performers with A.I. technology," and "did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate ." Epic Games, Llama Productions, and Fortnite's use of an AI Darth Vader voice comes amid SAG-AFTRA's video game strike, which is primarily fighting for AI protections for the union's .

SAG Video Game Strike Is Still Ongoing

Gaming Actors Are Seeking Protections Against AI

SAG-AFTRA have been on strike against video game employers since July 26, 2024. Negotiations have made progress on contractual disputes, but protections against AI are the primary sticking points. AI-generated voices threaten to put voice actors out of work, and this is the crux of SAG-AFTRA's unfair labor practice charge against Llama Productions.

SAG-AFTRA claims that the union and its were not negotiated with when implementing the AI chatbot that runs the Darth Vader voice in Fortnite. There is a specific note regarding voice actors who have taken on the role in previous video games, such as Darth Vader's appearance in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or Battlefront 2 (2017). The union posits that work has been taken away from qualified voice actors, regardless of the Jones estate's permission for the AI voice.

Our Take: SAG-AFTRA's Filing Is Fair & AI Vader Continues An Off-Putting Star Wars Tradition

Please, Just Pay New Actors

From the filing, it would seem SAG-AFTRA has legitimate concerns with the implementation of Fortnite's AI Vader voice. According to the document, the Basis of the Charge is as follows:

"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 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 is not unilaterally opposed to AI voice work in video games; it's willing to adopt the quickly evolving technology as long as human workers are compensated fairly for their voices, which are used to train such algorithms. The union is specifically trying to protect the actors who were overlooked for the role of Vade in Fortnite in favor of using Jones' voice.

Sadly, such practices have dogged Star Wars for years. Plenty of others have already played Vader, yet Jones' voice was used in a grim sort of puppetry to bring the interactive character into Fortnite. This isn't too different from the CGI used to plaster the late Carrie Fisher's and Peter Cushing's de-aged faces onto Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One.

The same was done with Mark Hamill's face in The Madalorian, despite the actor underneath the CGI already looking a great deal like Luke Skywalker. Star Wars seems to have an odd wish to enshrine its characters as they originally appeared, despite Alden Ehrenreich doing a more than serviceable job as Han Solo in Solo. James Earl Jones' turn as Vader is about as iconic as a role can get, but SAG-AFTRA has legitimate complaints regarding the role as it was cast into Fortnite.

Source: SAG-AFTRA