Orson Welles’ days as a commercial pitchman did not end with his death in 1985. He’s helping to sell an upcoming video game.
BioWare and Electronic Arts licensed the use of Welles’ opening narration from the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast for a teaser trailer for the next installment in its sci-fi video game series Mass Effect. The popular franchise was launched in 2007 and is available on a number of platforms.
More than 16 million games have been sold in the past 13 years. The success of the games has spawned novels, comic books, fan films, action figures and an amusement park ride.
Licensing of Welles’ voice and likeness is handled by Reeder Brand Management, a Los Angeles-based entertainment and rights representation consultancy. Its rights representation group directly manages the personality rights of iconic personas including Alfred Hitchcock, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Johnny Cash.
Earlier this year, Reeder Brand Management licensed the use of two vintage Welles radio shows for use by the rapper Logic.
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