Val Kilmer’s family approved his AI resurrection for a movie he never got to shoot, and now he’s brought back to finish it

Val Kilmer, who passed away in 2025, will still appear in the upcoming film As Deep as the Grave through generative AI technology. His estate, including his daughter Mercedes and son Jack, has fully supported this decision.

Kilmer was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, five years before his death. Director and writer Coerte Voorhees had always envisioned Kilmer in the role, which drew on his Native American heritage and his connection to the American Southwest. 

According to Variety, Voorhees recalled seeing a call sheet with Kilmer ready to shoot, but the actor was battling throat cancer and could not make it to set. The family’s support was a key factor in the decision to use AI. Voorhees shared that Kilmer’s family repeatedly stressed how important the film was to them and how much Val himself wanted to be part of it, believing it was a story that deserved his name.

The film’s production faced serious obstacles, but the filmmakers found an ethical path forward with AI

As Deep as the Grave, previously titled Canyon of the Dead, is based on the true story of Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris and their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. The cast includes Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi, and Abigail Breslin, with Kilmer’s AI-generated version playing a significant role.

The AI technology uses younger images of Kilmer, many supplied by his family, along with footage from his later years to show the character at different points in his life. His voice, which was affected by a tracheal procedure, is also incorporated. 

Producer John Voorhees noted that the character Father Fintan suffers from tuberculosis, which closely mirrors Kilmer’s own struggle with throat cancer, particularly in how it affected his voice. This case is one of many signs that AI is advancing faster than most people expected, with its reach now extending well beyond the tech industry.

COVID-19 shutdowns stretched the production timeline to six years. Scenes involving Father Fintan were cut at one point due to budget and time constraints, but the filmmakers soon realized those scenes were essential to the story. Recasting was not an option given the limited budget, so they turned to AI.

The Voorhees brothers are aware their decision may attract criticism, given ongoing debates in the creative community about AI and the unauthorized use of actors’ likenesses. These conversations are happening across industries, and even the defense sector is grappling with how AI firms are being evaluated for wartime use. They followed SAG guidelines and compensated Kilmer’s estate, hoping the film can serve as an example of ethical AI use.

Kilmer himself had prior experience with AI voice technology, having partnered with Sonantic during his lifetime to create an AI-powered voice that allowed him to reprise his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.

He stated at the time that the ability to communicate is central to human existence and that the AI gave him “the chance to narrate his story in a voice that felt authentic and familiar.” Mercedes Kilmer also released a statement saying her father “always viewed emerging technologies with optimism, seeing them as tools to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” and that his spirit is being honored in this film.