An AI firm has reportedly struck a major deal with Stan Lee Universe to add the late Marvel Comics mogul’s voice and likeness to its collection of celebrities that companies can license for commercial use.
ElevenLabs — an AI company specializing in generative audio, AI voice generation, and music creation — will be resurrecting Stan Lee, who died in 2018 at the age of 95, via artificial intelligence by adding the late writer to its Iconic Marketplace, according to a report by Variety.
The company announced the deal Wednesday. “You know what they never tell you about legends?” an AI-generated synthesis depicting Stan Lee’s voice said in a video released by ElevenLabs. “They outlive the page.”
ElevenLabs users are now able to generate Lee’s voice and make it narrate any book to them via the company’s Eleven Reader app. They can also create the iconic writer’s likeness in comics-inspired visual templates, Variety reported.
Lee’s voice was trained on professional recordings of him, the AI company disclosed.
“Stan always believed in meeting his fans where they were: in the pages of a comic, at a convention, or in a quick on-screen cameo,” Chaz Rainey, a lawyer and board member for Stan Lee Universe, said.
“This partnership is a way of continuing that,” Rainey added. “Fans have always told us that when they read his comics, they hear the words in Stan’s voice, and now, thanks to ElevenLabs, we can make that a reality.”
ElevenLabs’ partnership will also reportedly see the company launch a new series, Stan Lee Book Club of the Month, with plans to add a new title in the public domain every month to commemorate Lee’s love for books.
“His voice, his image, his love of storytelling,” Rainey said. “ElevenLabs gives us a way to keep that alive and in fans’ hands in a way that’s true to who he was.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.