{"id":63471,"date":"2026-09-23T23:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/?p=63471"},"modified":"2026-09-23T12:38:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:38:49","slug":"its-super-controversial-so-why-did-wonkas-the-golden-ticket-use-ai-for-gene-wilders-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/09\/23\/its-super-controversial-so-why-did-wonkas-the-golden-ticket-use-ai-for-gene-wilders-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Wonka&#8217;s The Golden Ticket recreated Gene Wilder&#8217;s voice with AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Netflix&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/tag\/wonka-the-golden-ticket\/\">Wonka&#8217;s The Golden Ticket<\/a> controversially brought back the late Gene Wilder&#8217;s voice using AI for its new series. He sadly passed away in 2016, so why did Wonka&#8217;s The Golden Ticket use AI for Gene Wilder\u2019s voice?<\/p>\n<p>Gene Wilder was the original Willy Wonka from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He&#8217;s arguably the most iconic part of the film, and now his voice is being used for the new reality competition series.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Netflix got permission from his widow, Karen D. Wilder, who acted on behalf of the Gene Wilder Estate, to recreate his voice for the show. He serves as the show&#8217;s omniscient narrator, explaining the game&#8217;s rules.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kGVuOT6h11c?si=THcj9RGo7MPaL0Wa\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/netflix-wonka-reality-show-gene-wilder-1236682001\/\">statement<\/a>, Karen said: &#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Gene had a remarkable ability to bring humour, wonder and heart into people\u2019s lives, and that connection has endured for generations,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We are delighted that Wonka\u2019s The Golden Ticket celebrates the warmth and imagination that he brought to the role, introducing that magic to a new generation while honouring the fans who have cherished it for decades&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Netflix partnered with AI firm ElevenLabs to recreate the late actor&#8217;s iconic voice for its new reality competition series Wonka&#8217;s The Golden Ticket. ElevenLabs specialises in AI-generated, human-like speech and voice cloning technology.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Netflix got full permission to use his voice, viewers have mixed reviews on how they feel about using AI to recreate the iconic actor&#8217;s voice. One X user wrote: &#8220;the fact you even considered AI&#8217;ing Gene Wilder&#8217;s voice is f***ing horrific.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite his wife giving consent, people have pointed out that Gene himself never did. &#8220;Gene Wilder died in 2016. He never agreed to have his voice cloned. This is the part I cannot get past,&#8221; one X user wrote. &#8220;At what point does preserving someone&#8217;s legacy become speaking for a dead person who never gave consent?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><i>For all the latest reality TV cast member news, scandals, gossip and updates \u2013 like&nbsp;<\/i><i><span draggable=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/realitytvshrine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reality Shrine<\/a><\/span><\/i><i>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<\/i><i><span draggable=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/realityshrineofficial?rdid=TzQu2kEd2cUqU4rD&amp;share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F14zX5cKubf%2F#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He never gave permission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249734283,"featured_media":63498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1358],"tags":[2248],"class_list":["post-63471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-wonkas-the-golden-ticket"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/realitytvshrine.com\/realityshrine\/2026\/09\/23\/its-super-controversial-so-why-did-wonkas-the-golden-ticket-use-ai-for-gene-wilders-voice\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Why Wonka&#8217;s The Golden Ticket recreated Gene Wilder&#8217;s voice with 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