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Netflix Trailer for Wonka Reality Series Features AI Gene Wilder Voice

The trailer raises fresh ethical questions about AI recreations of deceased performers.

Overview

  • Netflix released the trailer for Wonka’s The Golden Ticket on Wednesday, confirming a nine-episode reality competition that will begin streaming Sept. 23.
  • The show sends twelve “Golden Ticket” winners and their chosen partners into a replica of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory to face physical, mental, and moral challenges for a life-changing prize.
  • The trailer uses an AI-recreated version of Gene Wilder’s voice generated with ElevenLabs and cleared by the Gene Wilder estate, which issued a statement supporting the choice.
  • Early coverage described the trailer’s tone as unsettling or creepy and questioned the taste of using a synthetic voice despite the estate’s approval.
  • The series was produced in Australia by Eureka Productions with named executive producers and is part of Netflix’s broader push to monetize the Roald Dahl catalog, a strategy that makes industry use of posthumous AI more consequential.