Thanks to generative artificial intelligence, Val Kilmer, who passed away in 2025, will posthumously star in the film “As Deep as the Grave”.
Val Kilmer will be “resurrected” through artificial intelligence and will posthumously star in “As Deep as the Grave”.
In the film he was cast in five years before his death in April 2025, Kilmer would have played Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, but at the time the actor was already battling throat cancer, which prevented him from working.
According to reports, Kilmer’s performance will be created using AI, built from images collected throughout his life as well as recorded samples of his voice.
In an interview with Variety, director Coerte Voorhees revealed that he had Kilmer in mind for the role from the beginning, and even without having had the chance to film with the actor, he managed to bring his vision to life using cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence.
According to Voorhees, he had the support of Kilmer’s children to move forward with the project; “His family kept saying how important they felt the film was and that Val truly wanted to be part of it.”
The actor’s daughter, Mercedes, also spoke to the publication about how her father viewed new technologies and revealed Kilmer’s involvement with Voorhees’ film.
“My father was a deeply spiritual man, and this story of discovery and enlightenment in the American Southwest, as well as his unique role in that process, truly touched him deeply,” she said.
“He always approached emerging technologies with optimism, as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling. That spirit is something we all honor in this specific film, of which he was an integral part,” Mercedes stated.
American actor Val Kilmer passed away at the age of 65 on April 1, 2025, after a long battle with throat cancer. An icon of cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, he played memorable roles, including Iceman in “Top Gun” (1986), a character he reprised in “Top Gun: Maverick”, in 2022, when AI was also used to assist his speech.
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Images: reproduction Paramount Pictures, First Line Films. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
