Val Kilmer Revived Via Controversial Method for New Movie, and Some Fans Aren't Happy
Val Kilmer will appear in one final movie after his death; but he never stepped foot on the film's set before he died.
The Batman Forever star died on April 1, 2025 of pneumonia, following a very public battle with throat cancer. The latter prevented him from filming the upcoming movie As Deep as the Grave, but his death won't prevent him from being in the finished product.
Instead, the actor's likeness will star in the project via the use of generative AI, the film's director, Coerte Voorhees confirmed in a new interview with Variety. The late actor's daughter, Mercedes, also shared her approval for using AI with the outlet, while Voorhees noted Kilmer's son Jack also signed off on its use.
Generative AI Is a Growing Hollywood Controversy
The use of generative AI in Hollywood has been a hot button issue, thanks to concerns over how it will replace human labor both in front of and behind the camera. Voorhees said production followed all SAG guidelines and also compensated Kilmer's estate for using his likeness, insisting it's what the family—and Kilmer himself—would have wanted.
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Voorhees said. “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.”
Voorhees said Kilmer is the only one he wanted to play Father Fintan, described by Variety as a “Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist” in a film chronicling a pair of real-life archeologists hoping to learn more about the history of the Navajo people. Kilmer will reportedly play “a significant part” in the completed project.
“It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest,” Voorhees said of Kilmer, who had Cherokee roots. “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.”
“Normally we would just recast an actor. I’m all about working with our actors, and we have brilliant performances all throughout this movie. But we can’t roll camera again,” Voorhees added of the indie production. “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.”
Kilmer's likeness was generated using images of the late actor in his youth, as well as footage in his last years, given to the filmmakers by his family. His voice was also reconstructed via AI.
Although it received the family's blessing, reaction online has been mixed. Some fans have praised filmmakers for including Kilmer in the film despite his death, while others railed against the use of AI to create a performance he never gave, calling it "creepy" and "wrong" on X.
Kilmer's Family Signs Off
In a statement, Kilmer's daughter Mercedes remembered her father as “a deeply spiritual man” who connected with the “story of discovery and enlightenment” of the film.
“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” she added. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”
As Deep as the Grave also stars Tom Felton, Abigail Breslin, Abigail Lawrie and Wes Studi.
See the first photo of the AI-generated Kilmer over at Variety.