Val Kilmer returns to the big screen with the help of AI in 'As Deep as the Grave' trailer
Val Kilmer is returning to the screen, this time through artificial intelligence.
The late actor's digitally recreated likeness is featured in the first trailer for "As Deep as the Grave," a historical drama unveiled Wednesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
Directed by Coerte Voorhees, the indie film stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton and Abigail Breslin. It follows real-life archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris as they uncover remains of the Ancestral Puebloans in the 1920s.
Kilmer appears as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist.
In the trailer, his character delivers a chilling line, saying, "Don't fear the dead, and don't fear me."
Kilmer, who died in 2025 at 65, had been cast in the role years earlier but was unable to film due to declining health.
With the approval of his estate, including his daughter Mercedes, filmmakers used generative AI to complete the performance using archival material.
The footage shows Kilmer at different stages of life, from a younger priest to a ghost-like figure.
"When we lost Val and we had to basically cut a huge portion of the original story, we weren't planning on using AI at the time," Voorhees told ABC News. "AI has been a newer tool, and when AI has become more accessible and quite frankly, has gotten to the point where it actually can do this properly, that's what gave us the confidence to then include this part."
Kilmer's estate approved the project, was compensated and contributed materials to support the recreation, according to Vorhees and his brother John Vorhees, who produced the film.
"It's a very artistic process and a patient process where we build this character that he would have played," John Voorhees told ABC News. "And working with his family, this is where we use family photographs, we use voice recordings."
Production on "As Deep as the Grave" began in 2020 in New Mexico but faced delays during the pandemic.
Rather than recast the role after Kilmer stepped away, the team moved forward and later revisited how to incorporate his character into the story.
Kilmer appears on screen for more than an hour, according to the filmmakers. A release date for the film has not yet been announced.
"We're, in this project, demonstrating what we think is a good way to appropriately handle a performance like this in an ethical way," John Voorhees said. "The collaboration of the family, and true to what Val wanted to do when he gave this permission, this blessing, to fulfill this character."
The AI-generated role for Kilmer in "As Deep as the Grave" is not the first time the technology has aided one of his performances. After losing his natural voice following throat cancer, Kilmer worked with software to recreate it, which was later used in "Top Gun: Maverick."
The use of AI in movies and television has sparked debate in Hollywood.
"Right now we are in the wild west of AI usage," Clayton Davis, Variety's chief awards editor, told ABC News. "There are a few people in our Hollywood business that do love movies, that do like TV shows and want to make the best version of those."
He continued, "They see AI as a tool to be used to make it better, not the replacement. Then there are others that are looking at this as the ultimate money saver for us in the future."
