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On Tuesday, Netflix unveiled the trailer for its new Willy Wonka-themed competition show, which features a re-creation of Gene Wilder\u2019s voice. Wilder, who died in 2016 at age 83<\/a>, was known for his role as the eccentric candy man in the 1971 children\u2019s favorite \u201cWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWonka\u2019s The Golden Ticket,\u201d which premieres on Netflix on Sept. 23, will follow 12 contestants as they navigate a series of challenges inside Wonka\u2019s Chocolate Factory for the chance at one grand prize.<\/p>\n \u201cA whole new generation of real-life Golden Ticket holders will compete for a life-changing prize or say a most unfortunate goodbye,\u201d the AI-generated voice of Wilder says in a voiceover for the trailer. \u201cMarvel at the magic you remember and delight in my newest wonders beyond imagination. The most extraordinary competition on Earth is about to begin.\u201d <\/p>\n Karen Wilder, Wilder\u2019s wife, said his estate is \u201cdelighted\u201d that the show will be \u201cintroducing that magic to a new generation while honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore 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,\u201d she said in a statement provided by Netflix.<\/p>\n The project is a partnership between Netflix and the AI voice generation company ElevenLabs, which has been making inroads in Hollywood in recent years.<\/p>\n Just last week, ElevenLabs released its own audiobook version of Homer\u2019s \u201cOdyssey,\u201d <\/a>narrated by an AI-generated clone of Michael Caine\u2019s voice, which was similarly licensed with permission from his estate.<\/p>\n The startup has a \u201cmarketplace\u201d system that lets companies ask to license AI-generated reproductions of certain highly recognizable voices to use in media campaigns and creative projects.<\/p>\n Licensable voices on the platform include those of celebrities like Stan Lee and David Hasselhoff, historical figures like Thomas Edison and J. Robert Oppenheimer and fictional characters like Optimus Prime and Mr. Potato Head.<\/p>\n Including late actors\u2019 likenesses in films is becoming an emerging phenomenon.<\/p>\n In March, a New Mexico-based production company announced that it had created an AI-generated reproduction of Val Kilmer<\/a> \u2014 who died of pneumonia last year \u2014 to play the role he was cast for in the upcoming film \u201cAs Deep as the Grave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the fact some people might call it controversial, this is what Val wanted,\u201d the film\u2019s director, Coerte Voorhees, told Variety<\/a> at the time, noting that Kilmer\u2019s estate granted permission.<\/p>\n But using AI that way has often stirred pushback from others in the film industry, who say they\u2019re worried about loss of labor in an already dismal market for Hollywood jobs.<\/p>\n Last year, the launch of the first fully AI-generated actor, Tilly Norwood, was widely criticized<\/a> for what the actors union SAG-AFTRA described as \u201cdevaluing human artistry.\u201d<\/p>\n Online, news of the AI use in Netflix\u2019s reality series quickly drew callbacks to other AI-driven revivals of \u201cWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory\u201d in recent years.<\/p>\n In 2024, a Willy Wonka-inspired experience in Glasgow, Scotland, fell so drastically short of its advertised extravagance \u2014 with seemingly AI-generated posters and AI-written scripts for actors \u2014\u00a0that attendees called the police<\/a>. It became such a viral moment online that the event inspired a spinoff<\/a> in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Film reviewer Stefan Ellison wrote on X<\/a> in response to the new Netflix show: \u201cJust hire someone to play Willy Wonka. Even the Wonka Experience in Glasgow did that.\u201d<\/p>\n