AI-Rendered Val Kilmer Debuts in 'As Deep as the Grave' Trailer
The filmmakers used generative AI with his estate’s approval, and the trailer shows Kilmer on screen for 1 hour and 17 minutes, producers said.
- On Wednesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, filmmakers debuted a trailer for 'As Deep as the Grave' featuring an AI-generated performance by the late Val Kilmer portraying Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist.
- Writer-Director Coerte Voorhees cast Kilmer years ago for the role, but the actor's health prevented him from filming before he died in 2025 at age 65 following a battle with throat cancer.
- With support from Mercedes Kilmer, the actor's daughter, the production team utilized generative AI while adhering to Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists guidelines and compensating Kilmer's estate.
- Producer John Voorhees emphasized the project followed protocols of "consent, compensation and collaboration," yet the use of AI to recreate posthumous digital likenesses remains controversial in Hollywood amid industry-wide concerns.
- The historical drama centers on archaeologists Ann Axtell Morris and Earl Morris and their 1920s excavation of the Canyon De Chelly in Arizona; filmmakers plan to release it sometime this year.
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As Deep as the Grave Filmmakers Defend Recreating Val Kilmer Using AI
The Dead Speak! And they star in movies too in the upcoming As Deep as the Grave, which features an AI-recreation of Val Kilmer in an important role, despite the actor passing away in 2025 and having never filmed any material for the film. At Wednesday's CinemaCon, the first teaser trailer for As Deep as the Grave was debuted, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, including director Coerte Voorhees and his brother, producer John Voorhees, moder…
Val Kilmer returns via AI as film-makers test Hollywood’s red line
The first images of late American film star Val Kilmer returning to the big screen courtesy of artificial intelligence were unveiled on Wednesday in Las Vegas, in what will likely stir debate over the technology’s role in Hollywood.A youthful, digital version of Kilmer appears in the trailer for As Deep as the Grave, telling another...
One year after his death, Val Kilmer is back in the trailer of the film "As Deep As The Grave". It is in fact a double generated by artificial intelligence, with the help of personal images. Bluffant, the result will not fail to fuel the concerns of a whole profession. - Val Kilmer "resuscité" by AI: the trailer that makes Hollywood tremble? (Culture, media and entertainment).
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