Marvel creator Stan Lee’s voice, likeness set to be revived following AI deal
Stan Lee’s AI voice and likeness have been licensed for a new digital rollout, bringing the late Marvel Comics creator to an AI marketplace, a reader app, visual templates and music tools. The deal places Lee’s voice and image inside ElevenLabs’ Iconic Marketplace through an agreement with Stan Lee Universe, the joint venture between Genius Brands International and POW! Entertainment. Lee died in 2018 at age 95, but his voice will now narrate books and appear in approved AI projects.
Stan Lee AI voice deal expands digital licensing
Variety reported that ElevenLabs announced the pact on Wednesday. The company said Lee’s voice and likeness will join its Iconic Marketplace, which offers licensed celebrity voices and likenesses for commercial use.“You know what they never tell you about legends?” An AI-generated version of Lee says in a company video. “They outlive the page.”Users can also create Lee-inspired images and videos through comic book panel templates in the platform’s visual generator. Those creations are limited to non-commercial use. His voice can narrate books through the Eleven Reader app. ElevenLabs said it trained the voice model on professional recordings of Lee. “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. 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.”
Stan Lee Book Club adds AI narration
The company will also launch the “Stan Lee Book Club of the Month” through Eleven Reader. The series begins in June with Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’. A new public domain book will follow each month.Lee’s replicated voice also says, “With great power comes great responsibility” and “Excelsior!” in the video.The rollout includes two music filters, “Superhero Cinematic Swells” and “Retro Hero Fanfare.” Other names on the platform include Michael Caine, Judy Garland, Burt Reynolds, David Hasselhoff and Albert Einstein. Val Kilmer’s estate also allowed the upcoming film ‘As Deep as the Grave’ to use his image and voice after his 2025 death.Lori McCreary of Revelations said technology companies and Hollywood must “respect consent, protect name, image, and likeness rights, and preserve the value of human creativity.”The company raised 500 million USD this year at an 11-billion-USD valuation.
