Val Kilmer, who died last year at 65, will appear in a significant portion of As Deep As the Grave via generative AI, according to writer-director Coerte Voorhees. Developed with the support of Kilmer’s estate and his children, the film casts the actor as a Native American spiritualist and Catholic priest in a period drama about 1920s archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris. The project, previously titled Canyon Del Muerto, stars Tom Felton and Abigail Lawrie, with Wes Studi in a supporting role, and will draw on archival images of Kilmer to recreate him across decades. The move underscores Hollywood’s growing use of AI, following techniques used in The Brutalist and recent voice-cloning deals by ElevenLabs with Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine.
Related articles:
Rogue One’s digital recreation of Peter Cushing raises ethics questions
AI-synthesized narration in Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
ElevenLabs and the commercialization of AI voice cloning
The SAG-AFTRA strike and the fight over AI protections
Val (2021) chronicles Kilmer’s career through archives and family
