Val Kilmer back from the dead, thanks to AI, to star in new movie ‘As Deep In The Grave’
An AI version of Val Kilmer will star in As Deep In The Grave, after receiving the blessing of the late actor’s estate, as well as his daughter and son.
As Deep In The Grave, previously titled Canyon of the Dead, is based on the true story of Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, chronicling their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, in an attempt to uncover the history of the Navajo people.
Looking back on the casting choice, the film’s writer and director, Coerte Voorhees, said, as per Variety, “He was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him.”
Voorhees went on, “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.”
Kilmer was originally cast in 2020, but his ongoing battle with throat cancer meant he was never able to make it to the set.
It has now been confirmed that the AI version of Kilmer will star in a “significant part” of the completed project, thanks to state-of-the-art generative AI.
The part that was written for the actor, who passed away from pneumonia following his struggle with cancer on April 1st, 2025, at the age of 65, will still, in some way, go to him.
Elaborating on the AI addition, Voorhees shared, “His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this.”
He added, “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 crew has gone to great lengths to resurrect Kilmer digitally. They have used younger images of the actor provided by his family, as well as footage from his final years, to show his character in various stages of his life.
Additionally, the voice of his AI rendering will be as close to the truth as possible; the team has used audio recordings of his voice to influence the modelling. In his later life, his voice was damaged by a tracheostomy.
The late actor’s daughter has released a statement in support of the technology; “He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” Mercedes said.
She added, “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”
So far, no official release date for As Deep as the Grave has been shared.
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