AI audio company ElevenLabs announced an agreement with Stan Lee Universe to license the late comic legend’s voice and likeness for commercial use on May 27, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Stan Lee Universe, a joint venture involving Lee’s company POW! Entertainment, controls the rights to his image and voice [1, 2].
The AI model replicates Lee’s distinctive tone and storytelling style through training on extensive interviews, speeches, and voice samples, enabling accurate voice synthesis for audiobooks, comic visuals, films, and other media [1, 4, 3]. Chaz Rainey, board member for Stan Lee Universe, said, “Fans have always told us that when they read his comics, they hear the words in Stan’s voice, and now, thanks to ElevenLabs, we can make that a reality” [1]. He added, “His voice, his image, his love of storytelling... ElevenLabs gives us a way to keep that alive and in fans' hands in a way that's true to who he was” [3].
ElevenLabs plans to launch a monthly series called “Stan Lee Book Club of the Month” starting in June 2026. The first audiobook will be Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, narrated by the AI recreation of Stan Lee’s voice [5, 4, 3]. Users on ElevenLabs’ platforms can generate audio with AI Stan Lee, create comic panels featuring his likeness, and license his image for commercial projects [1, 3].
Stan Lee passed away in November 2018 at age 95 after suffering from advanced macular degeneration in his later years [1, 2, 4]. Other famous personalities licensed by ElevenLabs include Michael Caine, Judy Garland, David Hasselhoff, and Albert Einstein [1, 5, 2, 3]. Actor Michael Caine praised the technology for “using innovation not to replace humanity, but to celebrate it,” emphasizing that it “amplifies” voices rather than replacing them [1].
However, some fans and critics have raised ethical concerns about AI recreations of deceased celebrities, calling the practice “ghoulish” and questioning the morality of profiting from their likenesses [5].
Stan Lee Universe and ElevenLabs will continue to expand AI-powered content featuring Lee’s voice and likeness, with new releases anticipated following the Book Club launch in June 2026.
