Netflix's AI Gene Wilder Wonka voice sparks backlash
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Netflix announced "Wonka's The Golden Ticket," a reality series set in the Willy Wonka universe, with ElevenLabs replicating the voice of Gene Wilder—who died in 2016—from the 1971 film with consent from his estate.
- Karen B. Wilder, Gene Wilder's widow, said she was "delighted" the series "celebrates the imagination" he brought to the role.
- Fans on social media pushed back, calling the AI voice "disrespectful" and "a plastic substitute," with one commenter saying "In the end, it still sounds like every robotic AI voice you have heard."
- Online critics drew comparisons to Glasgow's disastrous "Willy's Chocolate Experience" event in 2024, which went viral for dramatically failing to deliver on its promises.
- Jocelyn Burnham, a specialist in how AI is used in arts and culture, said studios were "testing the waters" for what audiences will accept, citing Disney's AI recreation of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader in the 2022 series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" as evidence audiences aren't "automatically hostile" to such uses.
- Burnham added there are no "settled industry norms" and warned that the more loved the voice or character, "the more scrutiny the resulting product is likely to face."
Why it matters: Netflix's AI-recreated Gene Wilder voice for a Wonka reality show has already triggered fan backlash calling it "disrespectful" and "a plastic substitute." An AI arts specialist cited by the outlet said there are no settled industry norms—and the more beloved the voice, the more scrutiny the final product will face.
Ask SkimNews
