Val Kilmer Digitally Resurrected Through AI For New Film Role

Val Kilmer will posthumously appear in As Deep As The Grave through advanced AI technology, five years after his 2025 death from throat cancer complications. Director Coerte Voorhees cast Kilmer as Father Fintan before his passing, but the actor was too ill to film scenes. Using generative AI with family approval and SAG compensation guidelines, filmmakers created Kilmer’s performance from existing images and voice recordings. His daughter Mercedes Kilmer supported the project, saying her father viewed emerging technology as storytelling expansion tools. The film chronicles archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris excavating Canyon de Chelly, Arizona to trace Navajo history. Kilmer’s AI character suffers tuberculosis, mirroring his real throat cancer struggle. The cast includes Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi, and Abigail Breslin. Story URL