Val Kilmer to Star in Film Through AI 1 Year After His Death & Fans Are Divded

Val Kilmer will star in a new film, As Deep as the Grave, through AI one year after he died from pneumonia after a battle with throat cancer — and fans are deeply divided.

On April 1, 2025, Kilmer died at age 65. Although he had signed on to star in the independent movie, the Willow actor was unable to film due to his health.

Filmmakers opted to use generative AI to have Kilmer play Father Fintan, a Native American naturalist and Catholic priest. They did so with the permission of his children, Jack and Mercedes, using younger photos and older videos provided by his family.

“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Coerte Voorhees, the writer and director of As Deep as the Grave, told Variety. “He really thought it was an important story that he wanted his name on.”

Voorhees continued, “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.”

As Deep as the Grave isn’t the first time Kilmer gave permission for his likeness to be generated through AI. His speaking voice was replicated for Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, when he reprised his character, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, after losing his voice following cancer treatments.

FIRST LOOK: Val Kilmer has been resurrected via AI to star in the new movie “As Deep as the Grave.”

Kilmer was cast in the movie in 2020, five years before his death. But he was too sick amid his throat cancer battle to ever make it to set. Now an AI version of the actor is… pic.twitter.com/OjWHUdrsXn

— Variety (@Variety) March 18, 2026

On Reddit, film fanatics debated the idea of AI Kilmer. One critic wrote, “I love Val Kilmer and his cancer took away a really interesting and dynamic actor. If his family agreed to this, then I’m not sure I should speak against it. But honestly, it feels icky and ghoulish.”

Another shared, “I still think they should recast it rather than use AI. There is just something so messed up about using AI. Even if it is being used with his blessing, it really just feels so wrong.”

Someone else predicted, “Eventually aspiring actors will need to compete against dead actors for parts.”

However, others were fine with the use of AI in Kilmer’s case if that’s what he wanted.

“I’m OK with it. If he agreed before he died, then why not. It’s a gift,” a different Redditor pointed out. “The role was written for him. It sounds like a good movie and I wouldn’t want to see anyone else in the role. We watch cartoon movies and those aren’t real people that become beloved to us. ”

Yet another Reddit user commented, “If Kilmer’s family agreed to this,” adding the disclaimer, “I hope I never have to see this listed on Kilmer’s resume.”

In addition to Kilmer’s AI character, As Deep as the Grave stars Tom Felton, Abigail Breslin, Tatanka Means, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Wes Studi, and Ewen Bremner, among others. The logline, per IMDb, reads, “Two archaeologists seek out the Canyon of the Dead and the dead find them.”

As Deep as the Grave, premiering in 2026