Val Kilmer to Appear in New Movie via AI

An AI version of the late actor, who died of pneumoniaat the age of 65 on April 1, 2025, appears as a character named Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, in Coerte Vorhees’ upcoming indie film As Deep As the Grave.

“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,” Vorhees told Variety.

Though Kilmer was unable to shoot the film due to his health at the time, Vorhees got the late star’s estate’s blessing to “resurrect” Kilmer using generative AI.

“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Vorhees said.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes was also supportive of bringing Kilmer back to screen using AI. In a statement she said her father was supportive of the film’s “story of discovery and enlightenment.”

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Despite the controversy surrounding AI’s place in art and entertainment, especially with regard to recreating the likenesses of late public figures, Vorhees maintains this is what Kilmer would have wanted.

“He really thought it was an 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,” the director shared.

Variety reports the AI version of Kilmer, generated using early photos of the actor as well as footage from Kilmer’s later roles and audio of his voice, will appear in “a significant part” of the final film.

As Deep As the Grave, which is based on a true story, also stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi, and Abigail Breslin.