Netflix’s new reality series Wonka’s The Golden Ticket brings Gene Wilder’s famous Willy Wonka voice back more than 50 years after the original film. The streaming service says the series will feature a recreated version of Wilder’s voice, used with permission from the Gene Wilder Estate.
The announcement, naturally, brought in all kinds of reactions on the net and a lot of the reaction is not about the actual technology. People are asking if recreating the voice of a much loved actor adds anything new, even when permission has been granted.
Netflix said the recreated voice pays tribute to the 1971 film and honours Wilder’s performance. Karen B. Wilder, Gene Wilder’s wife, speaking on behalf of the Gene Wilder Estate, said, “More than five decades after Gene brought Willy Wonka to life, people of all ages and backgrounds around the world continue to find joy, laughter and inspiration in his performance.
“Gene had a remarkable ability to bring humor, wonder and heart into people’s lives, and that connection has endured for generations. We are delighted that Wonka’s The Golden Ticket celebrates the warmth and imagination that he brought to the role, introducing that magic to a new generation while honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.”
How Are Voice Licences Changing Entertainment?
The Netflix announcement follows recent high profile voice licensing deals such as Sir Michael Parkinson’s voice, which has been recreated for a podcast series. Another popular one that comes to mind is how Disney continues to use James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader voice.
Benjamin Woollams, Founder and CEO of TrueRights, said, “Advancements in voice AI are changing how familiar voices can be recreated, preserved and commercialised. Recent examples, from the AI recreation of Sir Michael Parkinson’s voice for a podcast series and Disney’s continued use of James Earl Jones’ iconic Darth Vader voice, to the reported use of Gene Wilder’s voice in a new Netflix series inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, show the entertainment industry is beginning to establish where audiences draw the line on AI generated performances. So far, the response suggests people aren’t inherently opposed to the technology, but acceptance depends on context, transparency and, above all, whether its use feels respectful and properly authorised.
“The technology itself is no longer the biggest hurdle. Today’s voice models are capable of producing remarkably convincing results. The real challenge is ensuring the rights behind a person’s voice can be evidenced and managed responsibly, with clear consent, licensing and governance. Michael Caine’s decision to license his voice for The Odyssey audiobook is a good example of how these technologies can create new opportunities when creators remain in control. As voice AI becomes more sophisticated, the ability to evidence ownership, consent and authenticity will only become more important.”
What Will Decide If Recreated Voices Become The New “Thing”?
Permission from an estate may answer the legal side, but it does not automatically settle public opinion. Fans often have an emotional attachment to famous performances, especially when the actor is no longer alive.
Woollams believes the long term success of voice AI depends less on the quality of the technology and more on how organisations handle rights and consent. As he put it, “Ultimately, success won’t depend solely on how the technology becomes. It will depend on whether organisations can demonstrate that voices have been used with the right permissions, under clear governance and in ways that audiences can trust.”
Could This Be The Next Celeb Revenue Stream?
We know that influencers have been selling their likeness to AI companies, but could voice licensing be the next revenue stream? Experts have answered the question, and here’s what they think…
Our Experts:
- Monica Tomasso, Chief AI Visibility Expert, Monic AI Systems
- Mahendra Balal, Technology Analyst, Sovereix
- Russell Twilligear, Head Of AI Research & Development, BlogBuster
- Paul Menes, Counsel, R Slates Law
- Dr. A.K. Pradeep, CEO and Founder, Sensori AI
Monica Tomasso, Chief AI Visibility Expert, Monic AI Systems
“I do think AI voice licensing will become an important revenue stream, but I believe the bigger shift is how businesses think about identity.
“We’re already seeing founders ask whether they should license their voice for podcasts, educational content, customer support, and multilingual experiences. One of my own clients wanted to translate founder conversations into Spanish while preserving the original voice and expertise behind the content. That isn’t just a technology decision. It’s a branding decision.
“A trusted voice is becoming another form of intellectual property. Just as businesses license trademarks or photography today, I expect recognisable voices to become assets that can be licensed across products, training, education, and customer experiences.
“The challenge will be trust and governance. Audiences will want to know when they’re hearing an AI generated voice, who approved it, and whether the content accurately reflects the person behind it. The businesses that succeed won’t simply clone a voice. They’ll protect the authenticity that made people trust that voice in the first place.”
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Mahendra Balal, Technology Analyst, Sovereix
“Celebrities are no longer just individuals; they are transitioning into enterprise software platforms. AI voice licensing is absolutely the next major revenue stream because it solves the ultimate bottleneck of celebrity monetization: physical scalability.
“Historically, a celebrity could only record one audiobook, narrate one documentary, or shoot one commercial at a time. Their income was strictly capped by their physical hours in a studio. By licensing an official, high-fidelity AI voice clone, a celebrity’s brand can be infinitely scaled.
“Their voice can simultaneously narrate a thousand personalized marketing campaigns, read localized audiobooks in fifty different languages, and serve as the premium voice assistant for a major tech ecosystem—all while the actual human is asleep.
“The economic model will likely mirror the music industry’s royalty system. We will see the creation of “Digital IP Registries” where a celebrity’s verified voice model is securely hosted. Every time a brand, video game, or content creator generates audio using that specific model, a micro-transaction royalty is automatically triggered.
“However, the real battleground will be enforcement. The celebrities who successfully monetise this will be the ones who legally trademark their biometric audio data and aggressively enforce their “official” AI licenses, essentially turning their voice into a highly lucrative SaaS (Software as a Service) product.”
Russell Twilligear, Head Of AI Research & Development, BlogBuster
“Yes, AI voice licensing will absolutely become a celebrity revenue stream. In fact, it’s going to be a cash cow for the right celebrity.
“If your voice is instantly recognizable like Morgan Freeman, your voice is no longer just part of your brand. It’s part of your inventory.
“The smart celebrities won’t be fighting AI. They will license their voice to it, control it and charge for it everytime it talks.
“The dumb move is selling your voice rights outright. The smart move is treating it like music rights. Controlled usage, limited categories, expiration dates and checks that keep flowing in.”
Paul Menes, Of Counsel, R Slates Law
“Yes, AI voice licensing can continue to be a way for celebs to make money on and off-line. But to do so effectively, there are steps they need to take, both to protect against unauthorised uses of their voice and other characteristics, and to maximise their revenue from doing so.
“State laws govern and protect the use of what was called a public figures’ “name face and likeness”. (The catch phrase for this has become “NIL”).
“There’s been no Federal uniformity for NIL laws. There are pending Federal bills for this, mostly around and due the desire to create uniformity in the marketplace for college athletes’ monetization of their NIL. They would also apply to non-college athlete NIL as well. celebrities.
“Celebrities have always had U.S. trademark and copyright law to protect certain facets of their NIL. Recently, celebs (Taylor Swift, and Matthew McConaughey) have begun applying to register for trademark their voices, images, and certain phrases they’re considered known for.
“This is occurring to expand celebrities’ intellectual property protections in the digital age. It’s a legal strategy to combat unauthorized AI-generated content, and close a critical gap in NIL protections, as AI continues to get better at seamlessly manipulating voices and likenesses into false endorsements and deepfakes.”
Dr. A.K. Pradeep, CEO and Founder, Sensori AI
“Licensing likeness, whether it is a voice, a face, biomarkers appear to be ways in which celebs can generate value for their natural biological assets. However, Ai has made copying so infinitely easy that it is quite hard to say that an algorithmic voice WAS indeed generated from a human voice.
“For instance, Morgan Freeman’s gravely voice is known to millions. But Nature does not preclude another human being from having an identical voice. Unlike works of art that are created, the process by which Nature creates is unknown, and the changes that someone has identical bio assets is NON ZERO.
“GenAi has shamelessly stolen ALL assets from humanity in the pursuit of a greater good – Suno is inspired by Music, Midjourney is inspired by Art, and ChatBots are inspired by All human created literature. Bio assets like the likeness of Voice and Facial features have already been absorbed by the algorithms.
“It is prudent business that nobody is making a big splash of this to avoid a backlash. The music industry jealously protects the rights of music creators but has largely been powerless to stop the indomitable march of Suno. Algorithms cleverly hide what “inspired” them.
“Today algorithms allow for the effective cloning of one’s own voice to do one’s own podcasts. The capability exists. The genie is out of the bottle. The voice asking the genie to get back into the bottle is the voice of AI. The genie will ignore it.”
