Val Kilmer to Appear Via AI in Final Movie Role With Family's Blessing: 'Val Really Wanted to Be a Part of This'

Val Kilmer is being brought to life on the screen through AI.

The late actor, who passed away in 2025 due to throat cancer, was cast in the upcoming movie As Deep as the Grave as a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist named Father Fintan.

Sadly, he was already in poor health at that point, and unable to film for the movie before his death.

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Writer and director Coerte Voorhees, has opened up about his decision to bring the late actor into the film through new technology.

“He was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him. 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,” the director told Variety.

Through generative AI, and the blessing of the late actor’s estate and his daughter Mercedes aond son Jack, Val is now in the movie through the use of younger images and footage of his final years, with much of it provided by the family.

“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this. He really thought it was 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 director explained.

Per the outlet, the movie follows “Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, chronicling their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona in their effort to trace the history of the Navajo people.”

Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin all star, and Val will be “a significant part” of the movie.

“The character in the film also suffers from tuberculosis. Again, this historical character mirrored Val’s actual condition when he was suffering from throat cancer. And so when it comes to the voice this is a really unique opportunity for the character to reflect the condition that the actor was actually suffering from, thus creating a kind of a bridge,” producer John Voorhees explained.

Mercedes Kilmer provided a statement to the outlet confirming she supported the film, adding that her dad was “a deeply spiritual man” who resonated with a “story of discovery and enlightenment.”

“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling. This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part,” she said.

You can see a first look at his appearance via AI at Variety.com.

If you didn’t know, Will Forte and Val Kilmer almost dabbled in the world of reality television together.