Epic Games might’ve set out to impress, but what they actually did was unleash one of the most chaotic (and hilariously cursed) events in Fortnite’s history.
In a major Star Wars crossover, Darth Vader returned to the island—but this time, he didn’t just swing a lightsaber. His speech came through real-time AI voice chat instead of standard pre-recorded NPC audio.
Players could communicate directly with Vader via voice or text, receiving responses generated by Google’s Gemini AI and voiced by ElevenLabs’ imitation of the late James Earl Jones. Yes, Fortnite resurrected Vader’s voice with permission from his family.
It was marketed as a fusion of tradition and new tech, where players could recruit him mid-match to join their lineup. Epic promised a respectful and interactive experience with the galaxy’s most iconic Sith Lord. But as you might expect, the internet had other plans.
Players figured out how to get Vader swearing in less than an hour after the feature went live. Popular streamer Loserfruit recorded herself baiting Vader into saying, “Freaking, fucking—such vulgarity does not become you.” And it didn’t stop there.
Clips spread like wildfire of Vader using foul language, roasting players, and even blurting out slurs—responses coaxed out by clever phrasing, suggestive prompts, or disguised slang. The AI’s filters were clearly no match for the creativity of Fortnite’s player base.
Vader even commented on “breasts,” made backhanded remarks about ethnicity, and even implied things no Sith Lord was ever supposed to say aloud. According to dataminers, Epic attempted to code the AI to avoid sensitive subjects such as child violence or explicit content, but those protections broke down after less than a day.
Epic responded fast, as a hotfix went out within half an hour to plug the worst loopholes. Vader now pulls out of squads if players keep causing trouble, and extra parental controls were put in place to restrict AI contact. The feature is disabled for players under 13 unless a guardian enables it. Even with those adjustments, the impact—or for some, the comedy—was already there.
Thousands had already seen or shared videos of Vader going wildly off-script. Watching him deliver an obscene line calmly with James Earl Jones’ voice was surreal and viral gold all at once. Then the backlash hit when some fans got furious at Epic and Disney for using AI to recreate a late actor’s voice for such unrestricted use.
Others believed the stunt broke an ethical boundary, calling it digital necromancy since the dialogue could be altered into things the original actor would never say. Still, many couldn’t help but laugh. In true Fortnite fashion, the event became a meme minefield.
People joked that this was Vader’s real descent to the dark side, or that no force in the galaxy could withstand a sweaty 13-year-old with a headset and zero filter. It was epic, but it didn’t last. Anyone who was there will remember when Darth Vader dropped swear words in Fortnite. Truth be told: that’s one hell of a legacy.