Subsidiary

In brief

• The U.S. Screen Actors Guild has urged the U.S. National Labor Relations Board to act after Epic replaced Fortnite voice actors with AI without bargaining.
• The charge come days after an AI Darth Vader was at the center of controversy over racial slurs and profanity in Fortnite.
• The complaint highlights the guild’s ongoing battle over AI in the entertainment industry.

The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, filed a labor complaint against Llama Productions, a subsidiary of Epic Games, on Monday.

The complaint accuses the company of replacing voice actors with artificial intelligence without union consent.

The move follows public backlash last week over an AI-generated Darth Vader character in the popular video game Fortnite that used racial slurs and offensive language.

SAG-AFTRA alleges Llama Productions used AI to create the Darth Vader character in Fortnite’s crossover event, “Galactic Battles.” They did so without notifying or negotiating with the union, violating labor agreements, the complaint alleges.

“We became aware when the press release hit the wires,” a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson told Decrypt.

A labor relations board charge, also known as an unfair labor practice charge, is a complaint that claims an employer or union has violated labor relations law. SAG-AFTRA maintains that its involvement is essential in any decision to replace human work with AI.

“This charge concerns the union’s critical role in negotiating terms concerning the replacement of bargaining unit work with AI technology,” the spokesperson said. “We are very supportive of AI tools to enhance the audience experience, but employers cannot implement these types of uses without coming to the union first and bargaining terms.”

According to the SAG-AFTRA spokesperson, the union did not approach Epic Games before filing the charges, and the Fortnite developer has not yet responded. Epic Games did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

The union is asking the NLRB to issue a formal complaint, citing Llama Productions’ alleged failure to bargain in good faith.

“Within the past six months, the Employer, by its agents and representatives, 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 attorneys for SAG-AFTRA wrote.

If a violation is found, Llama Productions could be required to reinstate affected employees and provide back pay. The board may also order the company to post notices informing workers of their rights and the case outcome. The agency does not impose fines or punitive penalties.

The complaint comes amid broader action by SAG-AFTRA voice actors, who have been on strike since July 2024. AI use in game development is emerging as a key point of contention.

It is unclear how the SAG-AFTRA complaint will affect productions that use the licensed voices of actors who have already passed away.

Before he died in 2024, iconic actor James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader, licensed his voice to Lucasfilm. The agreement allows the creator of Star Wars to use Jones’ voice in future projects.

Other actors whose estates have licensed their voices to AI developers include Judy Garland, Jimmy Stewart, James Dean, and Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia.

While the guild said it celebrates the rights of its members and their estates to control the use of their “digital replicas,” it added that rights to bargaining terms must be “protected,” including those who previously worked on “matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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