10 Actors Who Are Done Playing These Characters

Simply put, without the unmistakable tones of the mighty James Earl Jones, there's a solid chance the biggest bad the galaxy has ever known would never have gone on to become a pop culture icon at all.

Combining an unrivalled menace with rich emotional depth, Jones will forever be linked with all things Star Wars and the fallen Jedi Knight known as Darth Vader. However, at the age of 91-years-old, the voice behind the legendary mask has decided to call it a day as "Darth."

But don't fret, this doesn't necessarily mean we've heard the last of Jones' rumbling sound in the role of Vader altogether. That's because, despite stepping away from the part, the actor has actually agreed to allow Disney and Lucasfilm to use old archival recordings of his voice, with young filmmakers using artificial intelligence synthetic speech technology to create the sound of a younger Jones' Vader in upcoming projects.

Fans have already seen the convincing work of the Respeecher group Lucasfilm have hired to pull off this staggering feat in the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with the two parties coming together to produce Vader's intimidating voice during the Disney+ show.

So, while Jones may be enjoying a well-earned retirement, Vader's iconic growl will live on.