Nearly a year after his death, Val Kilmer is getting one more shot at the movies.
The “Top Gun” star, who passed away in April 2025 at 65 from pneumonia following a long battle with throat cancer, will appear posthumously in the upcoming drama “As Deep as the Grave,” brought to life through AI. Production company First Line Films announced this week that an AI-generated likeness of Kilmer will appear in a significant portion of the film.
This marks what the company calls the first-ever posthumous acting performance created with generative AI.
The film, written and directed by Coerte Voorhees, is based on the story of 1920s archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, played by “Tin Star” actor Abigail Lawrie and “Harry Potter” star Tom Felton, who excavated the Canyon de Chelly in Arizona while documenting the history of the Navajo people.
Kilmer had originally been cast five years ago as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist. The character was, by all accounts, built specifically around him. Voorhees told Variety: “He was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn’t do it.”
Kilmer, who claimed Cherokee ancestry and was a vocal advocate for Native American rights, had a deep personal connection to the role. According to First Line Films, he expressed that Father Fintan “spoke to him both culturally and spiritually” at the time of casting.
Family gives their blessing
The project has the full support of Kilmer’s family. His daughter Mercedes confirmed to Variety that the family stands behind the decision, describing her father as “a deeply spiritual man” for whom the film’s themes resonated.
“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” she said in a statement. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”
Kilmer’s son Jack — himself an actor — also supports the project, according to the director. Voorhees told Variety that the family’s encouragement was ultimately what pushed him to move forward:
“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 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 New York Times reports that Voorhees initially completed an earlier cut of the film without Kilmer’s character but felt the absence was a glaring problem. He then approached Mercedes last year about the AI route.
A touchy subject in Hollywood
The announcement lands in the middle of an industry-wide reckoning over AI’s growing role in film and television.
Last year, the debut of fully AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood sparked fierce backlash from real performers. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing around 160,000 actors, recently concluded a month of negotiations with major studios without reaching a new agreement.
Across the Atlantic, UK actors’ union Equity voted overwhelmingly to refuse digital body scans on set until stronger AI protections are in place.
“As Deep as the Grave” is currently in post-production and is expected to be released later this year.
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