Michael Caine may be largely retired, but he’s still lending his voice to an upcoming audiobook edition of The Odyssey… sort of. Caine has licensed his voice to ElevenLabs, a company that produces AI-voiced content, and an AI clone of Caine’s voice will narrate the new audiobook.
Michael Caine on The Odyssey
“The ‘Odyssey’ is one of the greatest stories ever told,” Caine said in a statement. “By bridging classical storytelling with digital innovation, this timeless epic is reimagined for modern audiences, brought vividly to life through ElevenReader’s cutting-edge technology.“
Caine has been one of Christopher Nolan’s most frequent collaborators, but he’s not due to appear in The Odyssey. This audiobook isn’t connected to the upcoming film, but ElevenLabs is obviously hoping to capitalize on the renewed interest in Homer’s epic saga.
“The idea was, What would be an amazing piece of content, to show what’s possible in the responsible use of A.I. voice featuring an iconic voice?” explained Jack McDermott, who leads mobile growth and marketing at ElevenLabs. “On the one hand, it’s about great storytelling. At the same time, this has a really great effect of showing creators around the world, and authors, what can be done with ElevenReader.“
The Odyssey Voiced by AI
The 13-hour audiobook was released today on the company’s ElevenReader platform. In addition to Caine’s AI clone, the production features a supporting cast of 20 different AI voices, complete with AI-generated sound effects and a musical score. Naturally, some say this is just the beginning of companies cutting out real-life humans in favour of AI narrators
“The slippery slope of synthetic celebrity voices is, of course, that publishers will simply license those voices for more and more projects, resulting in fewer possibilities for everyone else,” audiobook narrator Edoardo Ballerini told the New York Times.
The Odyssey
The upcoming Nolan movie stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, Zendaya, Elliot Page, John Leguizamo, Samantha Morton, Ryan Hurst, Logan Marshall-Green, Lupita Nyong’o, Josh Stewart, Benny Safdie, Corey Hawkins, and Elyes Gabel.
The Odyssey is based on an ancient Greek poem by Homer that tells the tale of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey home after the ten-year Trojan War. The trip was perilous, including encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the witch-goddess Circe. At home, Odysseus is presumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must contend with groups of unruly suitors who each want Penelope’s hand in marriage to control the kingdom.
The film is set to be released in theaters on July 17.
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