James Earl Jones is stepping back from his legendary role as Darth Vader, according to a new report from Vanity Fair. The 91-year-old actor, who has voiced Darth Vader since the original 1977 Star Wars, signed over the rights to his archival voice recordings to filmmakers using new AI technology. Lucasfilm, partnered with Ukrainian start-up Respeecher, plans to use the recordings to recreate Jones’s iconic voice in future Lucasfilm projects. Respeecher first worked with Lucasfilm on the voice of young Luke Skywalker for The Book of Boba Fett. They also recreated Jones’s voice for Obi-Wan Kenobi, which streamed on Disney+ this past summer. Though Jones did not voice Vader on Kenobi, Lucasfilm veteran Matthew Wood credits Jones with “guiding the performance†and acting as a “benevolent godfather.†Jones reportedly signed off on the plan after hearing Respeecher’s work on Obi-Wan Kenobi. The actor, according to Wood, “wished to keep Vader alive.â€