SAG-AFTRA Slams Epic Games over Fortnite’s AI Darth Vader

Epic Games is under fire from SAG-AFTRA after using AI to replicate Darth Vader’s voice in Fortnite. The union says the iconic voice was generated without hiring a voice actor or securing union sign-off, raising serious ethical and legal concerns. “This is exactly the kind of situation we’ve been warning about,” a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said. “Studios using AI to replace union performers sets a dangerous precedent for the industry.”

The Vader voice appears in Fortnite’s latest Star Wars content, where players can interact with the iconic Sith Lord during in-game events. After completing a boss fight, you can talk to the Darth Vader AI, letting you converse with it like a normal human being. Rather than bring in a licensed voice actor, Epic reportedly used AI trained on archival audio to recreate the performance. The tech may be exciting on the surface level, but the union says the decision undermines the core values of fair pay and proper credit.

Fortnite Faces Unfair Labor Complaint over Use of AI Voice Technology

SAG-AFTRA says this isn’t just about one character or game. They are worried about the creeping use of AI as a shortcut around human labor. The union’s complaint claims Epic failed to consult or bargain with performers, which they see as a clear violation of labor rules. The concern isn’t just economic, but existential. If studios can generate voice performances without involving actors, what’s stopping them from bypassing artists entirely?

This dispute hits at the heart of recent industry tensions. In 2023, SAG-AFTRA struck deals with several studios around AI voice work, with guardrails in place. But Fortnite’s use of AI Vader pushes into murky territory. James Earl Jones, the late actor, who died in 2024, signed a voice rights deal before his death. However, the complaint is not about the technical usage of the voice.

In Fortnite, Darth Vader returned as a boss for the new Star Wars season. The in-game AI character uses Google’s Gemini 2.0 to generate dialogue and relies on ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model to deliver real-time voice responses.

The model is trained on archived recordings of the late James Earl Jones. In the NLRB filing, SAG-AFTRA mentioned that Llama Productions “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.”

The union is making it clear: using AI to resurrect voices without clear agreements digitally is a red line. The gaming world adopts synthetic performances as a technical achievement, but labor groups view them as a threat that could reshape how the industry values talent in the age of AI.

What do you think about SAG-AFTRA going after Fortnite for the Darth Vader AI? Tell us in the comments below.