Netflix Uses AI To Recreate Gene Wilder's Voice For
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- Netflix will premiere "The Golden Ticket," a Willy Wonka-themed reality competition series, on September 23, roughly 55 years after Roald Dahl's book was first adapted into the 1971 Gene Wilder film.
- Netflix is recreating Gene Wilder's voice using AI through a collaboration with ElevenLabs, the AI audio company that counts Matthew McConaughey among its investors, with consent from the Wilder Estate.
- Karen B. Wilder, Gene Wilder's wife, said the estate is "delighted" to introduce the actor's "magic to a new generation," framing the project as honoring fans who "cherished it for decades."
- Rusty Goffe, who played an Oompa Loompa in the 1971 feature, will reprise his role in the unscripted series as a nod to the original movie.
- The Golden Ticket will feature twelve contestants, each with a partner of their choosing, competing in challenges "physically, mentally, and morally" for a "life-changing prize," with a two-part finale premiering September 30.
- Eureka Productions, the company behind Fox's "The Floor," won a competitive bake-off against Fremantle, Wall to Wall, Nobody's Hero and The Garden for the right to produce the nine-episode series.
- The Golden Ticket was produced on the Gold Coast, Australia with support from the local government, with exec producers including Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin and Rikkie Proost.
Why it matters: The AI recreation of a deceased actor's voice — executed here with explicit estate consent — adds a high-profile test case to the fast-growing practice of digitally resurrecting celebrities, following ElevenLabs' recent work on Michael Caine and Stan Lee. For Netflix, the Gene Wilder hook differentiates an increasingly crowded reality-TV slate and pairs the show's September 23 launch with a two-part finale on September 30.
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