AI Recreates Val Kilmer in Indie Film Role

A generative AI recreation of Val Kilmer will portray the late actor in a significant role in the independent film "As Deep as the Grave," marking one of the most ambitious applications of artificial intelligence in Hollywood to date. The announcement came on Wednesday from First Line Films, the production company behind the project, which is based on the true story of archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris and their excavations in Arizona's Canyon de Chelly to uncover Navajo history.

Kilmer, known for roles in films such as "Top Gun" and "Heat," died in April 2025 at age 65 from pneumonia following a decade-long battle with throat cancer diagnosed in 2014. The illness required two tracheotomies, which damaged his speaking voice. He had been cast in 2020 as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist whose character suffers from tuberculosis, mirroring aspects of Kilmer's own health struggles. Production delays, including shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, stretched the filming over six years, and Kilmer was never able to shoot any scenes due to his condition.

Director and writer Coerte Voorhees, working with producer John Voorhees, decided against...