AI-Generated Voice of Gene Wilder Featured in Wonka Series

Netflix is betting that Gene Wilder's voice can still sell a golden ticket—even a decade after his death, NBC News reports. The streamer's new reality series, Wonka's The Golden Ticket (Sept. 23), uses an AI-generated version of Wilder's iconic narration from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as 12 contestants tackle challenges inside a candy-colored "factory" for a single grand prize. The project, developed with AI firm ElevenLabs, was approved by Wilder's estate; his widow, Karen Wilder, said they're "delighted" his performance will reach new audiences. The AI Wilder's voice can be heard in a new teaser for the reality competition, per the Hollywood Reporter.

ElevenLabs, which Variety reports also recently released an AI-narrated Odyssey audiobook in Michael Caine's digitally cloned voice and a Wizard of Oz audiobook narrated by an AI version of Judy Garland's voice, licenses synthetic versions of famous voices from figures including Stan Lee and Thomas Edison. The move drops into a film industry already split over AI. Supporters frame it as honoring legacy and enabling new creative projects; critics see a threat to jobs and "devaluing human artistry," as SAG-AFTRA put it when blasting a fully AI-generated actor last year. Online reaction to Netflix's show has included skepticism and reminders that Wilder himself once knocked a previous Wonka reboot as a money-driven exercise. The reality series debuts in September.