Gene Wilder's AI-created voice features in Netflix's 'Wonka's The Golden Ticket' reality show

Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka may be coming back from beyond the grave.

According to Variety, Netflix used AI to recreate Wilder’s voice for its new reality show, Wonka’s The Golden Ticket. With permission from Wilder’s estate, ElevenLabs was able to nail down the voice for the trailer, which you can watch below:

Premiering on September 23, Wonka’s The Golden Ticket features 12 lucky golden ticket winners and their partners who will step through the gates of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Inside, they have to navigate a series of physical, mental and ethical challenges. Whoever makes it through this “high-stakes social experiment,” will get Wonka’s “life-changing prize.” It’s currently unclear what this prize is, but the premise of being able to lick candy walls sounds pretty wild.

The show is based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but also pays tribute to the classic 1971 film. In fact, Rusty Goffe, who appeared in the 1971 film, will reprise his role as an Oompa Loompa.

ElevenLabs has also done recreations of Judy Garland, Burt Reynolds, as well as audiobooks, the Odyssey, featuring an AI-recreated Michael Caine, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz read by an AI Garland.

Wilder died in 2016, so it’s bittersweet to hear his voice again in a new way, but it is pretty eerie when you think about the implications of this kind of technology. His wife believes hearing his voice as part of this TV show “celebrates the warmth and imagination he brought to that role.”

"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,” said Karen B. Wilder, Gene Wilder’s wife, on behalf of the Gene Wilder Estate. “Gene had a remarkable ability to bring humor, wonder and heart into people’s lives, and that connection has endured for generations. We are delighted that Wonka’s The Golden Ticket celebrates the warmth and imagination that he brought to the role, introducing that magic to a new generation while honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.”