Val Kilmer comes back to life thanks to artificial intelligence.
The Top Gun actor, who died in 2025 at the age of 65 from pneumonia, had been cast in 2020 as Father Fintan, a Native American Catholic priest and spiritualist, in "As Deep as the Grave." But Val Kilmer, who was battling throat cancer, never made it to the set.
Writer and director Coerte Voorhees was able to include him in the cast anyway, thanks to the use of cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence. He did so after obtaining the approval of the actor's children, Mercedes and Jack: "My father," Mercedes stated, " has always viewed emerging technologies with optimism, as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling. That spirit is something we are all honoring within this particular film, of which he was an integral part." "He was the actor I wanted for this role," Voorhees says. "The film was conceived almost entirely around him. It was inspired by his Native American heritage and his connection and love for the Southwest ."
"As Deep as the Grave," an independent production that faced disruptions due to the Covid pandemic, is the true story of archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris and their excavations in Arizona's Canyon de Chelly, attempting to reconstruct the history of the Navajo people. Abigail Lawrie stars alongside Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in "Harry Potter"), with a cast that includes Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin. Kilmer will appear in "a significant part," a project that uses both images of him as a young man, many of which were provided by his family, and footage from his later years to show the character at various stages of life. The audio also uses Kilmer's voice, which was damaged by tracheal surgery. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2014, Kilmer underwent two tracheotomies and, after losing his voice, turned to AI software companies to recreate it. In his final film appearance, "Top Gun Maverick" (2022), his voice was digitally recreated.
: last year, Tilly Norwood, the first actress created with artificial intelligence, was introduced, and was immediately condemned by the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA.
