Actor Val Kilmer died in 2025, but he’ll be seen in an upcoming movie he didn’t live to film. The historical archaeologist drama As Deep As the Grave will include an AI version of the actor who died at age 65 after a battle with throat cancer. It’s not the first time we’ve seen studios use AI this way, but it could be the most successful.
Director and writer Coerte Voorhees revealed to Variety on Wednesday that he would use AI to bring Kilmer’s likeness back to play Father Fintan, a Native American priest.
As Deep As the Grave tells the true story of an archaeologist couple who worked with the Navajo people in the 1920s to learn about America’s very first civilizations. Voorhees says that Kilmer agreed to play the role five years ago, but the actor’s struggles with throat cancer made him unable to complete work on it. There’s no date yet for the film’s release.
Hollywood actors have increasingly found themselves at odds with generative AI, a technology that has rapidly begun to infiltrate nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry. From writing scripts to generating digital likenesses of actors’ faces and voices, AI now has the ability to replicate performances with striking realism. In some instances, studios have gone even further, creating entirely new AI “actors” who can perform without ever stepping onto a set. This has raised complex questions about consent, compensation, and creative ownership, as performers grapple with the reality that their identities and craft can now be reproduced, modified, or even replaced by algorithms.
These attempts have been strongly opposed by the SAG-AFTRA labor union representing entertainers, which has been engaged in strikes against video game companies and is currently in precarious negotiations with film and TV studios. The labor guild has certain protections against generative AI following a strike that lasted more than 100 days, including requirements for clear consent and fair compensation. The current negotiations would expand these protections.
A SAG-AFTRA representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Voorhees says that Kilmer’s children approve of this AI resurrection.
“[Kilmer] always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in a statement, according to Variety. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”
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