Hollywood Resurrects Val Kilmer Using AI in Upcoming Movie

Val Kilmer astatine the Cannes Film Festival. Credit: Georges Biard / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

An upcoming play volition usage artificial quality to bring the late Val Kilmer backmost to the screen, marking the latest determination by Hollywood to deploy AI successful recreating performers. Kilmer, who died past twelvemonth astatine 65 from pharynx cancer, had been attached to “As Deep As the Grave” earlier his death.

The film is based connected the existent communicative of archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, who worked alongside the Navajo radical successful the 1920s to uncover the Ancestral Puebloan civilization. British histrion Tom Felton is formed arsenic Earl, portion BAFTA victor Abigail Lawrie volition play Ann.

Oscar victor Wes Studi and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd circular retired the supporting cast. The production, formerly known arsenic “Canyon Del Muerto,” has been successful improvement since 2023.

The humanities play that became Kilmer’s past role

Kilmer was acceptable to represent Father Fintan, a Catholic clergyman and Native American spiritualist. Director and writer Coerte Voorhees said helium built the relation specifically astir Kilmer, citing the actor’s advocacy for Native American rights, his claimed Cherokee practice and his heavy transportation to the American Southwest. His unwellness prevented him from ever reaching the set.

FIRST LOOK: Val Kilmer has been resurrected via AI to prima successful the caller movie "As Deep arsenic the Grave."

Kilmer was formed successful the movie successful 2020, 5 years earlier his death. But helium was excessively sick amid his pharynx crab conflict to ever marque it to set. Now an AI mentation of the histrion is… pic.twitter.com/OjWHUdrsXn

— Variety (@Variety) March 18, 2026

Voorhees is present moving with Kilmer’s property and his girl Mercedes to reconstruct the histrion utilizing generative AI. Son Jack, besides an actor, has fixed his backing to the task arsenic well.

Voorhees said the household felt the movie had mattered greatly to Kilmer and that helium had wanted his sanction connected it, adjacent with the cognition that immoderate would presumption the determination arsenic controversial.

The AI recreation volition diagnostic successful a important information of the film. The accumulation plans to usage photographs taken of Kilmer crossed antithetic stages of his beingness to represent him astatine varying ages.

Val Kilmer’s AI instrumentality adds to Hollywood’s statement connected integer likenesses

The determination puts Val Kilmer and AI astatine the halfway of a broader speech astir however Hollywood treats the likenesses of performers.

In 2024, “The Brutalist,” directed by Brady Corbet, utilized AI to set Adrien Brody’s Hungarian accent connected the mode to winning the Oscar for champion picture. Actors Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine person besides licensed their voices to the startup ElevenLabs for AI reproduction.

“Val,” a 2021 documentary, told Kilmer’s communicative done archival footage, with his lad providing the narration.