Val Kilmer will appear in a new film nearly a year after his death, with producers using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology to bring the late actor’s performance to life in “As Deep as the Grave.”
The upcoming historical drama, previously titled “Canyon of the Dead,” will feature an AI-generated version of Kilmer as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist. The film depicts early 20th-century archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris as they excavate evidence of the Ancestral Puebloans in the American Southwest, specifically at Canyon de Chelly, Arizona.
Director Coerte Voorhees cast Kilmer in the role five years ago, but the actor’s deteriorating health prevented him from ever stepping on set. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and underwent a tracheostomy that permanently damaged his voice. He died of pneumonia on April 1, 2025, at age 65, surrounded by family at his Los Angeles home.
Rather than recasting, Voorhees turned to emerging AI technology to complete the film, which has been in post-production for three years. First Line Films, the New Mexico-based production company behind the project, announced the unprecedented move on March 18, 2026.
“He was the actor I wanted to play this role,” Voorhees told Variety. “It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest.”
The production used younger images of Kilmer provided by his family, along with footage from his final years, to depict Father Fintan at various stages of life. The filmmakers also recreated Kilmer’s post-tracheostomy voice, drawing a poignant parallel between the actor’s real-life condition and his character’s struggle with tuberculosis.
The indie production stretched across six years, enduring pandemic shutdowns and budget constraints. At one point, scenes featuring Father Fintan were cut entirely before the filmmakers realized the character was essential to the narrative.
Kilmer’s estate granted permission for the use of his likeness and was compensated according to SAG-AFTRA guidelines. The project received crucial support from Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes, 34, and son Jack, both of whom worked closely with the production team.
Mercedes Kilmer said her father “always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling.”
The decision marks what producers say is the first time a posthumous film appearance has been achieved entirely through AI technology—with the actor never having shot a single scene. Previous cases involving actors who died during production, including Oliver Reed in “Gladiator,” Paul Walker in “Furious 7,” and Carrie Fisher in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” relied on CGI techniques that superimposed actors’ faces onto body doubles.
Kilmer had already embraced AI voice technology before his death. In 2021, he partnered with the London-based software company Sonantic to create an AI-generated version of his voice by feeding audio recordings into an artificial intelligence algorithm. That technology was used in “Top Gun: Maverick,” his final completed film appearance alongside Tom Cruise. At the time, Kilmer said the chance to speak again in a familiar voice was “an incredibly special gift.”
The announcement comes amid ongoing debates about AI’s role in entertainment. California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in September 2024 providing AI protections for performers, including AB 1836, which specifically protects digital likenesses as part of a deceased personality’s posthumous right of publicity for up to 70 years after death.
The industry has seen mixed reactions to AI-generated performances. In 2025, the launch of Tilly Norwood, a fully AI-generated character marketed as an “actress,” drew sharp condemnation from SAG-AFTRA. The union called the creation “a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation,” adding that it was “devaluing human artistry.”
Unlike Tilly Norwood, the Kilmer project has the full blessing of his family and estate, and compensates them for his appearance—a distinction that may spare the film from similar criticism.
Kilmer, best known for iconic roles in “Top Gun,” “Tombstone,” “Batman Forever,” and “The Doors,” claimed Cherokee ancestry through his father’s family, which made the Father Fintan role particularly meaningful. He owned a 6,000-acre ranch in New Mexico for many years, deepening his connection to the American Southwest.
“As Deep as the Grave” also stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi, and Abigail Breslin. Kilmer’s AI-generated character will appear in “a significant part” of the finished film. Producers are currently seeking distribution with hopes of releasing the film later this year—bringing Kilmer’s final performance to audiences through technology that didn’t exist for most of his storied career.