James Earl Jones relinquishes voice rights to Darth Vader, signals retirement from legendary role James Earl Jones-one of the most

distinctive voices in film history-appears to be taking a step away from speaking the sStar Wars character, Darth Vader, for nearky 40

years in the role. Vanity Fair reports that the actor, 91, has signed over the rights to his voice to filmmakers using new AI technology

with Lucasfilm's Matthew Wood telling the magazine that the actor "wanted to keep Vader alive", noting that the particular character he

was looking for have to Wood told Vanity Fair "So how do we proceed?" Jones debuted as the legendary Star Wars villian in the 

1977 film and followed it up by voicing the same character throughout the franchise up to this point on the big and small

screen. He recently starred in the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+. While actor David Prowse donned the Sith Lord's

distinctive black uniform for the original films, it was Jones who provided the complex Vader's uniquely deep voice

In addition to his work on sci-fi epics, Jones is a famous Ezio. He received an honorary Academy Award in 2011, nominated for Best

Actor in 1970's The Great White Hope. Other stars of the franchise have returned to the franchise in recent years. Ewan McGregor,

Hayden Christensen and Mark Hamill all reprized their characters, much to the delight of fans. But it looks like one of the most unique