Val Kilmer Digitally Resurrected for 'As Deep as the Grave': What This Means for Indie AI Ethics

The conversation around AI in Hollywood has been raging for a while, and now we have our first big leap forward in the argument, as the late Val Kilmer will star in a movie next year, thanks to AI.

As reported by Variety, an AI Val Kilmer is set to star in the upcoming indie drama As Deep as the Grave.

You may have seen Val Kilmer during the "In Memoriam" part because he's dead. He died in 2025. But director Coerte Voorhees is using generative AI to complete the actor's performance for a role he was originally cast in five years ago.

At the time, Kilmer was too sick to come to the set. Now, he's in the movie.

Let's dive in.

From "Canyon of the Dead" to AI Resurrection

The film, originally titled Canyon of the Dead , tells the true story of 1920s archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris (played by Abigail Lawrie and Tom Felton) who spend time trying to discover the past of the Navajo people.

Kilmer was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist who helps the archaeologists.

Voorhees says the role was "designed around him," drawing on Kilmer’s own heritage and love for the Southwest.

But Kilmer’s health struggles with throat cancer, and the subsequent pandemic, delayed production. By the time the film was ready to roll, Kilmer was too ill to perform, and he ultimately passed away.

Yet now, thanks to AI, he'll be in the movie.

Generative AI and Archival Data

If this all seems a little creepy to you, you're not alone. I find it distracting to the idea of the movie and even a little gross, given the memory of the man.

But Kilmer's kids and estate are on board with the choice.

So, how are they doing it?

Even though this is a low-budget movie, Voorhees argues that the AI route was actually cheaper and more faithful to the original vision than a total overhaul.

The production used "state-of-the-art" generative AI, trained on archival footage provided by the Kilmer family. This allowed them to depict the character across different decades of his life.

When it comes to the lines, it gets even trickier.

The film uses an AI-recreated voice model built from recordings of Kilmer during those final years, even with these damaged vocal cords.

This choice that aligns with the character of Father Fintan, who also suffered from a respiratory illness (tuberculosis) in the script.

The Ethics of it All

As I said, I think it's going to distract from the movie. It would be hard to stay in the story when I was watching the AI.

There's also the uncanny valley of resurrecting dead actors, which is always an ethical minefield, but this project has the full support of the Kilmer estate.

And that can insulate it from a lot.

Kilmer’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, and son, Jack Kilmer, have been vocal supporters. Mercedes noted that her father always looked at emerging tech with "optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling."

On top of that, the production reportedly followed all SAG-AFTRA guidelines regarding AI and ensured the estate was properly compensated.

What This Means for Filmmakers

I think this is actually a great case study for how AI will be used in the future. We're seeing a movie with a limited budget that is able to afford AI to replace an actor. nd we're also seeing them follow guidelines to do it.

I wish we had the actual numbers behind what it cost to do all of this, but I bet there was some sort of deal to showcase the tech. Even if not, I wonder if they were able to float a loan to finish the movie based on the idea of using AI.

This also sets a precedent for how actors’ likenesses are treated posthumously. If you're a writer-director, are you thinking about "digital twins" in your casting contracts?

What kind of discussion do you need to have in writing with your descendants to make sure how you're used, or if you're used at all?

But the real test will be when As Deep as the Grave hits the festival circuit or distribution. Will audiences accept a digital Val Kilmer as a lead, or will the "stomach-churning" nature of the tech distract from the story?

Maybe they'll show up out of morbid curiosity. I know I will. and that could have been a hit at the box office, as I thought it's not very replicable.

Summing It Up

We’ve seen AI used for de-aging (Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones) and brief cameos (Carrie Fisher in Star Wars), but As Deep as the Grave represents a shift toward AI being used to fulfill a lead role from scratch after an actor has passed.

It'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.