30 April 2026
Val Kilmer’s daughter has defended using AI to resurrect the actor for As Deep As The Grave.
Val Kilmer is being recreated with AI
The late Hollywood icon died last year aged 65 from pneumonia following long-term health struggles stemming from a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis and related treatments including a tracheotomy that left him using a voice box.
He was too ill to film his final role in the historical action movie, and so his likeness and image have been recreated using generative AI.
His estate and daughter Mercedes Kilmer approve the decision, after Val previously teamed up with Sonantic to create his AI-powered speaking voice in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.
Responding to backlash over the move, Mercedes told the Today show: “It started off as a way to overcome the limitations of his illness, but then it evolved into something that he really was like, ‘Oh, wait. I have a chance to actually set a precedent’.
“It’s kind of fallen into two camps. People that maybe have a more precarious position in the industry and are worried and see AI as a threat — which is absolutely valid — and younger people, younger actors and musicians.
“I’m a musician and a lot of people that I know are so scared of this technology.”
However, Mercedes argued that using AI in this way can help “protect that actors’ ownership of their IP”.
She added: “At the same time, I’ve gotten a lot of like really good responses from people — older people, people maybe more established in the industry — that see it as a way to protect that actors’ ownership of their IP.
“We have to contend with this technology one way or the other. And avoiding it, it’s not necessarily the way.
“It’s much easier to structure the rights if you proactively license something.”
As Deep As The Grave writer and director Coerte Voorhees recalled Val’s family explaining “how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this”.
He told Variety: “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.”
Coerte used existing photos, footage and audio recordings to reconstruct the performance.
In a statement last month, Mercedes said: “He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling.
“This spirit is something that we are all honouring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”
