A Year Since His Death, An AI Version Of Val Kilmer Will Star In New Film

An AI-generated version of actor Val Kilmer will appear in the film “As Deep as the Grave” following the death of the celebrity from throat cancer last year.

Film director Coerte Voorhees explained to Variety that his heart was set on Kilmer being in the indie project, but the “Top Gun” star became too ill to come to set, even for one day.

“He was the actor I wanted to play this role,” Voorhees told the outlet. “It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest. I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn’t do it.”

The director said Kilmer’s estate, including his son and daughter, were on board with resurrecting an AI version of their famous dad to star in the project.

“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Voorhees went on. “He really thought it was [an] important story that he wanted his name on. 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.”

“We really figured out that this is a major missing element,” the director insisted. “Normally we would just recast an actor. I’m all about working with our actors, and we have brilliant performances all throughout this movie. But we can’t roll camera again. We don’t have the budget. We’re not a big studio film. So we had to think of innovative ways to do it. And we realized the technology is there for us.”

The AI version of Kilmer was created using film, photos, and voice recordings from various points in his life. 

“The character in the film also suffers from tuberculosis,” John Voorhees, the film’s producer and Coerte’s brother, explained to Variety. “Again, this historical character mirrored Val’s actual condition when he was suffering from throat cancer. And so when it comes to the voice this is a really unique opportunity for the character to reflect the condition that the actor was actually suffering from, thus creating a kind of a bridge.”

“As Deep as the Grave” was originally titled “Canyon of the Dead,” the outlet noted. It’s based on the true story of archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris as they performed excavations in Arizona to uncover the history of the Navajo people. Kilmer’s likeness will play Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes said in a statement that her late father “always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling.” 

“This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part,” Mercedes added.

While still alive, Kilmer worked with Sonantic to create an AI version of his voice, which was used for his role as “Iceman” in “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022).

“As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the side effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me,” he said at the time. “The chance to narrate my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift.”