One year after death, Val Kilmer brought back with AI for new film As Deep as the Grave
Nearly a year after his passing, late Hollywood star Val Kilmer is set to return to the screen in an unexpected way. The actor has been digitally resurrected using generative AI for an upcoming film titled As Deep as the Grave.
Val Kilmer resurrected by AI
Back in 2020, Val was cast as a Catholic priest, Father Fintan, in what was then titled Canyon Of The Dead. However, the actor’s cancer worsened, preventing him from filming any scenes in the much-delayed film. Now, six years later, one year after Val’s death, the late actor is set to return to the screen with the film, which has been renamed to As Deep As The Grave. It has been made possible by generative AI. The first look of the film has also been released.
“He was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest. I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn’t do it,” says the film’s writer and director Coerte Voorhees.
As per Variety, it was done with the actor’s permission and the support of his family and estate. His family is supportive of the movie and provided the production with younger images of him to use. The outlet also reports that the estate was also compensated.
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this. He really thought it was important story that he wanted his name on. It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, okay let’s do this. Despite the fact some people might call it controversial, this is what Val wanted,” added Coerte.
As Deep as the Grave is about Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, chronicling their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, in their effort to trace the history of the Navajo people. It also stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin.
The AI-generated version of the actor will appear in “a significant part” of the finished film. The project has used uses both younger images of Val, many of them provided by his family, and footage from his final years to show his character in various stages of his life. The audio also utilises Val’s voice.
Val Kilmer dies at 65 after battle with cancer
Val Kilmer, known for his roles in films such as Batman Forever and Top Gun, died April 1, 2025 at the age of 65.
Val, who rose to fame for playing the competitive naval aviator Tom Iceman Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 mega box-office hit Top Gun, died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, told The New York Times.
The actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, and he permanently lost his voice after undergoing a tracheotomy. Val, a documentary about his life that premiered at Cannes in July 2021, showed him needing a breathing tube. In the report, his daughter shared that Val was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered.
Val continued working up until his death, making his final movie appearance opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. The 2022 blockbuster worked around the loss of his voice by having his character, Iceman, communicate by typing on a computer, though he also briefly speaks. At that time, Val partnered with Sonantic to create an AI-generated speaking voice for Top Gun: Maverick.
Val’s marriage to actor Joanne Whalley, whom he met on the set of Ron Howard’s children’s fantasy film Willow (1988), ended in divorce. His survivors include their children, Mercedes and Jack. Val lived on a ranch near Santa Fe for many years. Val is also known for playing the role of Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever, channeled as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone‘s The Doors and starred in several other 1980s favourites.
