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In a striking move, Val Kilmer has been digitally brought back to life using cutting-edge generative AI technology, nearly a year following his passing, all for a new cinematic project titled “As Deep as the Grave.”
Coerte Voorhees, the film’s writer and director, discussed the “controversial” choice to revive the late actor through artificial intelligence in an interview with Variety, which was released on Wednesday.
“He was the ideal choice for the role,” Voorhees shared with the publication, revealing an exclusive image of Kilmer’s AI-generated character, Father Fintan. “The part was intricately crafted with him in mind.”
Although Voorhees initially had Kilmer “set to start filming” when “As Deep as the Grave” began production in 2020, the actor was facing significant health challenges and “was unable to participate.”
Kilmer, who succumbed to pneumonia at the age of 65 on April 1, 2025, had been fighting throat cancer for the last decade of his life.
Voorhees explained he was still able to use the state-of-the-art generative AI to place Kilmer in certain scenes via photos, footage and audio recordings obtained with permission from the “Tombstone” star’s estate and family.
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Voorhees shared. “He really thought it was an important story that he wanted his name on.”
He added, “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.”
Mercedes Kilmer, whom the “Doors” star shared with his ex-wife, Joanne Whalley, expressed support for bringing her late dad back using AI for “As Deep as the Grave.”
“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” Mercedes, 34, told Variety. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”
Jack Kilmer, whom the “Batman Forever” star also shared with Whalley, was said to be on board as well.
But Voorhees went on to reveal that he cut many scenes involving Kilmer’s Father Fintan due to time constraints and budgetary reasons.
However, he ultimately realized that Kilmer’s role was a “significant” and “major missing element.”
Besides the AI version of Kilmer, “As Deep as the Grave” will also star Abigail Lawrie and Tim Felton.
Based on a true story, the film will reportedly focus on archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, their excavations in Arizona and their work tracing the history of the Navajo.
“Normally we would just recast an actor,” he explained. “I’m all about working with our actors, and we have brilliant performances all throughout this movie.”
The filmmaker continued, “But we can’t roll camera again. We don’t have the budget. We’re not a big studio film. So we had to think of innovative ways to do it. And we realized the technology is there for us.”
This also wouldn’t be the first time AI has been used to include Kilmer in a film, although it will be the first instance since his sad passing.
In 2021, seven years after he lost his natural speaking voice following a tracheotomy to treat his throat cancer, Kilmer partnered with Sonantic to create an AI-generated speaking voice and reunite with Tom Cruise for “Top Gun: Maverick.”
The project helped Kilmer reprise his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, which his daughter described as amazing.
“I was on set, I saw it live and it was extraordinary,” Mercedes told The Post at the time. “It means a lot to my dad as he’s very proud of that film. This is what he loves to do.”