Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, will appear in a new historical drama through an AI-generated performance. The trailer for "As Deep as the Grave" was unveiled on Wednesday at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas, showcasing the late actor's digitally recreated likeness.
The film's directors, brothers Coerte and John Voorhees, initially wrote Kilmer out of the project after his health declined, but later used artificial intelligence to resurrect his role with the consent of his children, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer. The AI technology was used to depict Kilmer both as he appeared near his death at 65 and as a younger version of himself in his 30s.
AI Recreates a Star's Legacy
The filmmakers emphasised that the Kilmer family were active collaborators. "Mercedes and Jack have as much creative authority when we give them a suggestion," producer John Voorhees told Business Insider. "It's consent, it's compensation, it's collaboration. What you see on the screen is what the family wants."
This is not the first posthumous use of AI for Kilmer; the actor approved similar technology to recreate his voice for 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick" while he was alive. For the new film, the process involved extensive archival research. Coerte Voorhees stated that sourcing the right reference footage for a single close-up shot took hours, while the AI generation itself took just seven minutes.
From Cancellation to Expanded Role
The project, a 1920s-era drama the brothers had tried to make for decades, faced a major setback when Kilmer became too ill to participate. After initially removing his character—a Catholic priest—the advancements in AI presented a new opportunity. Once the potential was realised, Kilmer's role was not just restored but significantly expanded; he now has over an hour of screen time in the finished film.
Director Coerte Voorhees described AI as the project's "biggest ally," stating it allowed them to focus on creating an "emotional experience" as a tribute to the actor. The film is currently seeking a distributor.