A new edit of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back features a shockingly accurate dub of James Earl Jones' iconic Darth Vader voice. The Empire Strikes Back brought Star Wars fans back to a galaxy far, far, away as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) face the wrath of the Galactic Empire after their destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope. The film, which is directed by Irvin Kershner, is widely regarded as the best Star Wars film of all time and still features many of the most iconic scenes in the entire franchise.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Outside of the Hoth base attack at the start of the film and Han being frozen in carbonite, one of The Empire Strikes Back's most memorable scenes comes at the very end when Luke is facing off against Darth Vader. After a thrilling lightsaber battle that sees Luke lose one of his hands, Darth Vader declares that he is Luke's father. The climactic scene is made all the more powerful because of Jones' unique voice performance, with many fans revisiting the popular moment following the announcement that Jones is retiring from voicing Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise.
In a new Star Wars edit, actor Evan Michael Lee dubs over the voice of Jones' Darth Vader during The Empire Strikes Back''s climactic moment. Lee's voice performance is shockingly accurate, with the actor's intonation, inflection, and accent almost perfectly matching Jones' voice in the film. The performance even earned a nod from Luke Skywalker himself, with Hamill commenting: "Excellent work, pops!" Check out the impressive voice dub below:
What Does James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Retirement Mean For Star Wars?
When Jones retired as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, he also gave the franchise permission to recreate his voice for the role in the future using artificial intelligence. This technology has already been used in projects like The Book of Boba Fett for Luke and in Obi-Wan Kenobi for Darth Vader, with a somewhat mixed response from fans. While the accuracy of the A.I. voices themselves is impressive, the performance aspect and the expression of human emotion are somewhat lacking when real actors aren't involved.
Lee's edit of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back makes a strong case that instead of relying on A.I. to recreate the voices of beloved Star Wars characters, perhaps new actors should be brought on instead. Although a new actor taking on the voice of Darth Vader would surely not sit well with all Star Wars fans, a human voice performance can convey subtle emotional cues and subtext that an A.I. might struggle with. It remains to be seen how Darth Vader, Luke, and other Star Wars characters will be portrayed in the years to come, but exploring options outside A.I. recreation may be a worthwhile investment.