Prolific actor Val Kilmer, who died last year at the age of 65, has reportedly been resurrected by artificial intelligence (AI) to star in a new film called As Deep as the Grave.
Kilmer was initially cast to play Father Fintan in the film — originally titled Canyon of the Dead — five years before his death, but was too sick to make it to set, as he had been battling throat cancer.
“He was the actor I wanted to play this role,” As Deep as the Grave writer and director, Coerte Voorhees, told Variety. “It was very much designed around him.”
Now, Voorhees — in cooperation with the late actor’s estate — will be able to include an AI version of Kilmer in “a significant part” of the movie, despite the The Doors star never having shot a single scene when he was alive.
He also noted that Kilmer’s daughter, Mercedes, and son, Jack, are supportive of the venture.
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Voorhees said. “He really thought it was important story that he wanted his name on.”
The writer went on to say it was the support from Kilmer’s family that gave him the confidence to say, “Okay, let’s do this,” adding that “this is what Val wanted,” even if “some people might call it controversial.”
The film will reportedly include younger images of the late actor — many of which have been provided by his family — as well as footage from his final years to depict his character in various stages of life.
The film was delayed for six years due to the movie being in an indie production that had to shut down due to compilations stemming from the 2020 the Chinese coronavirus.
“Normally, we would just recast an actor,” Voorhees told Variety. “I’m all about working with our actors, and we have brilliant performances all throughout this movie.”
“But we can’t roll camera again,” he added. “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.”
While the filmmakers know that their decision to use AI to resurrect Kilmer will likely draw criticism — due to the larger debate surrounding the technology — they are hoping to showcase how AI can be used ethically through As Deep as the Grave, the magazine reported.
Before his death, Kilmer — who was propelled to fame with Top Gun and went on to starring roles as Batman and Jim Morrison — had also partnered with the AI voice platform Sonantic to generate an AI-powered speaking voice when he reprised his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the 2022 film, Top Gun: Maverick.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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