Paramount
The first look at a film called As Deep as the Grave has been released, which sounds unremarkable in and of itself, until you realize it is set to star an entirely AI-recreated Val Kilmer. Kilmer passed away after a battle with cancer in April 2025.
While Val Kilmer was cast in the role in 2015, he his battle with throat cancer left his unable to film the movie. Now, over a decade later, the film has been finished with an AI Kilmer at the center of it.
Val Kilmer has been recreated by generative AI to star in the film As Deep as the Grave; first look image revealed
FIRST LOOK: Val Kilmer has been resurrected via AI to star in the new movie “As Deep as the Grave.”
Kilmer was cast in the movie in 2015, five years before his death. But he was too sick amid his throat cancer battle to ever make it to set. Now an AI version of the actor is… pic.twitter.com/NhpvHd3Jf7
— Variety (@Variety) March 18, 2026
While the general reaction will likely be one of disgust, the report adds that the film was created with the “blessing” of his daughter Mercedes, who 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 honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part,” she told Variety.
In his explanation of the stunt, writer-director Coerte Voorhees said that Kilmer was “the actor I wanted to play this role” and claimed that it’s what Kilmer would’ve wanted.
“It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest…” Coerte Voorhees reasoned.
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this. He really thought it was 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.”
Previously titled Canyon of the Dead, As Deep as the Grave tells the true story of Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris and their efforts to trace the history of the Navajo tribe via their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona.
In addition to the AI-generated Kilmer — which will appear in a “significant” part of the film — As Deep as the Grave will also star Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin.