Even if you’re not a fan of the legendary sci-fi media franchise Star Wars, it’s common knowledge that Darth Vader — the series’ tragic hero-turned-antagonist, and arguably its most iconic character — fell to the dark side of the Force and wields it against his foes. What Fortnite players are quickly discovering, though, is that he’s also embraced the dark side of the English language…or at least, an AI recreation of him has.
Early on Friday morning, developer Epic Games introduced an AI-voiced Darth Vader companion to the game as part of its themed Galactic Battle update. You can find him in three different locations in Fortnite’s current map shown here, including the area southeast of Foxy Floodgate, one west of Masked Meadows at the entrance to a mountain tunnel, and the one at the center of the Vader Samurai’s Solitude region.
Being the first player or squad to reach him will allow you to recruit him as an ally, and when you do, you’ll be given the option to speak with him over voice chat; doing so will trigger a response from his conversationalist AI in the likeness of the late James Earl Jones, beloved for voicing Darth Vader since the character’s inception until his passing last year. And to nobody’s surprise, people are already figuring out how to trick the dark lord into saying some pretty bad things.
Loserfruit made the AI Darth Vader Swear 😂 pic.twitter.com/bJmPpqGXvfMay 16, 2025
An example of this that went viral earlier today was a clip from streamer and YouTuber Loserfruit in which Darth Vader repeats the words “freaking” and “f***ing” back to her before reprimanding her for her “vulgarity” and speaking “like a common thug.” Loserfruit, stunned by the sound of Vader casually dropping an f-bomb, could only manage an astonished “I made him swear!”
In another case, someone managed to get Vader to say a homophobic slur by mentioning it in the context of smoking, as the word is often used in British English as a term for cigarettes.
Epic says it’s quickly hotfixed these holes in the safeguards that are supposed to keep the Vader AI from saying things like this, and notes that “this shouldn’t happen again.” However, I wouldn’t be surprised if we haven’t seen the end of the dark lord’s rogue antics yet given how off-the-rails other AI programs have gone before.
I’m reminded of when Google’s Gemini AI told people they should eat rocks or bizarrely said “please die” to a student, though this situation is admittedly quite different. Most examples of cases like the above are from people speaking to Vader with manipulative or targeted phrases in an effort to make him say something funny, and don’t occur when asking simple questions or making basic comments.
And indeed, there is something amusing about this ordeal, though it’s also a bit concerning since Fortnite is one of the most popular video games in the world for young children. Note that if you have a child that plays the battle royale title and want to err on the side of caution, you can disable the new “allow written and voice communication with AI features” in Fortnite’s Parental Controls menu to prevent speaking to or hearing the AI Darth Vader completely.
As for the use of James Earl Jones’ voice itself, Epic has shared comments from his family giving the developer the green light, and says it’s “honored to feature the voice of the late Mr. Jones and we thank his estate for the opportunity to make this happen for players.”
“James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character,” reads the statement from Jones’ family.
