Stan Lee’s voice and likeness return through an AI partnership

Artificial intelligence company ElevenLabs has announced a new partnership that will bring the voice and likeness of late Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee to its growing collection of licensed digital personalities.

The agreement with Stan Lee Universe allows ElevenLabs to use the comic book legend’s voice and image across its applications and licensing platforms. Lee, who co-created some of Marvel’s most famous characters, including Spider-Man and the X-Men, joins a roster of deceased and living celebrities whose digital identities are available for commercial licensing through the company.

The move highlights the expanding role of AI in preserving and recreating the voices and appearances of well-known public figures. It also reflects growing interest among entertainment companies in finding new ways to connect iconic personalities with modern audiences.

Stan Lee joins ElevenLabs’ celebrity marketplace

Under the new agreement, Stan Lee has been added to the ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace, a platform that enables businesses to license celebrity voices and intellectual property for commercial projects. Other notable figures already featured on the platform include Judy Garland, Michael Caine, John Wayne and David Hasselhoff.

Lee’s AI-generated voice has also been integrated into ElevenReader, the company’s text-to-speech application launched in 2024. The app allows users to upload documents and other text-based content, which can then be narrated using a range of AI-generated voices.

Through the service, readers can choose to have content voiced by a digital recreation of Lee. ElevenLabs currently offers a free tier with up to 10 hours of text-to-audio conversion per month. A paid subscription with unlimited access is available for US$8.25 per month.

The company believes that adding Lee’s voice will give fans a more personal way to experience written content. Given Lee’s distinctive speaking style and his long-standing connection with comic book readers, the feature is expected to appeal to Marvel enthusiasts and collectors alike.

The partnership also reflects a broader trend within the AI industry, where digital recreations of public figures are increasingly being used for entertainment, education and commercial purposes.

New book club celebrates Stan Lee’s literary interests

Alongside voice integration, ElevenLabs is introducing a new feature, the Stan Lee Book Club of the Month, on the ElevenReader platform.

The initiative, as the company describes it, is a monthly showcase of literary works that inspired or interested Lee during his lifetime. The first featured title, scheduled for June, is Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure novel Treasure Island.

ElevenLabs said it plans to add one public-domain book connected to the programme every month over the next year. The selected works will be available in the app, allowing users to listen to them via AI-generated narration.

The company hopes the project will help introduce classic literature to new audiences while celebrating another side of Lee’s legacy beyond comic books and film appearances.

Chaz Rainey of Stan Lee Universe said the partnership was designed to continue Lee’s long-standing relationship with fans.

“Stan always believed in meeting his fans where they were: in the pages of a comic, at a convention, or in a quick on-screen cameo,” said Rainey.

“This partnership is a way of continuing that. 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. 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.”

AI tools expand Stan Lee’s digital presence

The partnership extends beyond audio applications. According to Variety, Lee’s likeness has also been added to ElevenCreative, the company’s AI-powered image-generation platform.

Users can create comic-inspired images featuring a digital version of Lee through a selection of templates. These creations are intended for non-commercial use, giving fans another way to interact with the Marvel icon in a digital environment.

The development demonstrates how AI technologies are increasingly being used to recreate historical and cultural figures across multiple media formats. While the current implementation focuses on fan engagement and creative projects, it also highlights the growing capabilities of generative AI in visual content production.

ElevenLabs has further expanded the collaboration by introducing several Stan Lee-inspired audio filters within its AI music platform, Eleven Music. The new additions include “Superhero Swells” and “Retro Hero Fanfare”, both of which are available to users without requiring special approval.

The music-generation service allows users to create royalty-free tracks from text prompts. ElevenLabs launched the platform in 2025 after training its model on licensed music data obtained through agreements with organisations including Merlin Network and Kobalt Music Group.

The company has previously indicated its intention to secure additional partnerships with major music labels as it continues to develop its AI-generated music capabilities. The inclusion of Stan Lee-themed audio effects forms part of a wider effort to expand creative options across its ecosystem of AI tools.