The May the 4th celebrations on Fortnite turned sour. For this day dedicated to the Star Wars saga, the battle royale offered its users the opportunity to chat with Darth Vader in person. In person? Not really, since the tool was powered by artificial intelligence. The tool was designed based on the voice of James Earl Jones, who died in 2024. This use was authorized by the voice actor's family, but it was not validated by the Hollywood Actors and Actresses Union. SAG-AFTRA is filing a complaint against Llama Productions, a subsidiary of Epic Games, for “unfair practice.”
In a statement published on May 19, the organization, which represents 160,000 actors in the United States, explains that it wants to “protect our right to negotiate the terms of voice use (…) including those who reproduce the iconic rhythm and timbre of Darth Vader in video games.” The union adds that the company chose to replace the work of human artists without “negotiating appropriate terms.”
It should be noted that the tool was also quickly ridiculed, with numerous videos showing the AI uttering insults being published on social media. This is a use of the character that the character's rights holders might not view favorably. However, this is not really what worries SAG-AFTRA.
A lack of negotiation that is not going down well
Since the actors' and writers' strike, SAG-AFTRA has required the giants of the film, television, and video game industries to make a prior request before using AI to reproduce an actor's voice or appearance. Discussions are expected to be held to define the limits of the use of the image of the person concerned. It is often on this occasion that the remuneration of actors, whose image and voice are exploited, is negotiated. In its complaint, SAG-AFTRA alleges that Llama Productions ignored its requests.
“Over the past six months, the employer, through its agents and representatives, has failed and refused to bargain in good faith with the union by making unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment.”
The complaint was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, an independent U.S. government organization charged with ensuring compliance with union rights. It investigates illegal practices within companies and in labor law matters. For now, there is no indication whether SAG-AFTRA's complaint will be successful. The union is no doubt hoping to make the Fortnite case an example, as concerns in the voice acting industry are growing in both the United States and France.
A sector in crisis?
In France, many professionals have signed a petition. It aims to encourage the Ministry of Culture to address this issue, which represents "a danger" for voice actors in France.
Recently, the use of the voice of Alain Dorval, known for dubbing Sylvester Stallone, sparked an outcry in France. The company Eleven Labs obtained the agreement of the deceased actor's relatives to conduct experiments, but an excerpt was published without their permission. His daughter, Aurore Bergé, was outraged by such practices. In March, it was the French voice of Robert De Niro, Jacques Frantz, who was reproduced to read books on YouTube.
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