Tom Kane is a name that has been essentially inseparable from Star Wars for the past two decades. He has been credited in practically every single Star Wars game since 1996, voiced Yoda and the newsreel narrator in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and has served as a voice double for Ackbar, C-3PO, and Yoda. In fact, his voice has been used in recent projects like The Bad Batch and will be heard in LEGO Star: Wars: The Skywalker Saga when it releases (as Qui-Gon Jinn and Yoda)
Unfortunately, Tom Kane will not be able to feature in any new Star Wars media, including the upcoming Knights of the Old Republic Remake. With voice actors like Jennifer Hale returning (for Bastila Shan), many had hoped to hear new voices from Tom for the plethora of characters he voiced. However, his early retirement due to a stroke back in 2020 has been formally announced.
At the end of 2020, his daughter, Sam Kane, revealed that her father had suffered a stroke that left him with right side weakness and damage to the speech center of his brain. It’s been known that Tom has been participating in Speech, occupational, and physical therapy, but now Sam has confirmed the prolific Star Wars actor is having to retire.
Ultimately, Sam reveals that the damage to his speech center is too severe, and he is suffering from Apraxia. It comes down to know what he wants to say but not being able to communicate it effectively, with this obviously taking a toll on his family. Sam continues to say how “f*cked up it is that in a split second one of the most talented voice actors ever lost his voice and career.” Without a doubt, the loss of his voice is something the Star Wars fandom will mourn, but hopefully, Tom and his family can find a new normal moving forward.
In Knights of the Old Republic, Tom voiced Vandar Tokare (of Yoda’s species), Uthar Wynn, Rolan Wann, Ajunta Pall, Niklos, Marl, Koribaan Czerka Representative, Matale War Droid, Manaan Security Droid, and Manaan Sith War Droids. While perhaps some of Tom’s voice work can remain in the upcoming remake, Knight of the Old Republic is being remade from the ground-up, and a lot of it will likely need to be replaced.
It’s incredibly unfortunate given the circumstances, but hopefully, the Star Wars fandom at large, as well as those excited for the upcoming Knight of the Old Republic, and community overall can keep Tom in their thoughts. The franchise wouldn’t be what it is without him, and his legacy will continue on for many years to come in everything he influenced and touched.
Knights of the Old Republic Remake is being developed as a timed PS5 console exclusive.