Val Kilmer passed away in 2025, but audiences will still see him on screen in a role he never got to finish. The historical archaeological drama As Deep As the Grave will feature an AI-reconstructed performance of the actor, who died at 65 following a prolonged battle with throat cancer. Studios have ventured into this territory before, but the circumstances here — prior consent, family approval, and a culturally significant story — position this as perhaps the most ethically grounded attempt yet.

Director and screenwriter Coerte Voorhees disclosed to Variety on Wednesday that he intends to deploy AI to reconstruct Kilmer's likeness for the role of Father Fintan, a Native American priest central to the film's narrative.

As Deep As the Grave dramatizes the true story of an archaeologist couple who collaborated with the Navajo people during the 1920s to document and preserve knowledge of America's earliest known civilizations. Voorhees confirmed that Kilmer had committed to the role five years prior to his death, but the actor's deteriorating health ultimately prevented him from completing production. A release date has not yet been announced.

The film arrives at a moment of deep tension between Hollywood talent and the generative AI systems that have steadily permeated the entertainment pipeline. The technology has moved well beyond novelty — it now underpins everything from script development to the synthesis of photorealistic digital likenesses and voice replicas. Some productions have pushed further still, casting entirely fabricated AI "performers" who exist only in compute. The implications are far-reaching: as the fidelity of synthetic performances improves, the industry faces hard questions around informed consent, residual compensation, and who ultimately owns the commercial rights to a human likeness.

The labor movement has pushed back forcefully. SAG-AFTRA has taken a firm stance against unchecked synthetic performer use, having already engaged in strikes against video game studios and remaining locked in fragile ongoing negotiations with major film and television studios. Following a strike that stretched beyond 100 days, the guild secured baseline protections governing AI use — among them explicit consent requirements and equitable compensation frameworks. The current negotiating round aims to strengthen and broaden those provisions.

A SAG-AFTRA representative had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Voorhees has stated that Kilmer's children have given their blessing to the AI reconstruction.

"[Kilmer] always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling," his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in a statement, as reported by Variety. "This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part."