{"id":2335754,"date":"2026-03-18T22:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2335754"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:26:49","slug":"an-ai-rendered-val-kilmer-will-posthumously-appear-in-a-new-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/an-ai-rendered-val-kilmer-will-posthumously-appear-in-a-new-film\/","title":{"rendered":"An AI-rendered Val Kilmer will posthumously appear in a new film"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2013 A year after the actor’s death, a generative AI version of Val Kilmer<\/a> will co-star in an independent film, in one of the boldest uses yet of artificial intelligence in moviemaking. <\/p>\n

First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled \u201cAs Deep as the Grave.\u201d The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health. <\/p>\n

Kilmer’s estate gave permission for his digital replication, and is being compensated for it. Mercedes Kilmer, the actor’s daughter, said the role resonated with her father. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cThis spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kilmer died last April<\/a> at the age of 65 from pneumonia. In 2014, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer and required two tracheotomies. After losing his natural speaking voice, Kilmer turned to an AI software company to digital recreate his voice. In his final screen performance, 2022’s \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d Kilmer’s voice was digitally altered. <\/p>\n

The use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking has been one of the most contentious topics in Hollywood in recent years. Lately, some have attempted to make greater inroads for AI-generated performance. The company Xicoia last year launched the AI-concocted persona \u201cTilly Norwood\u201d<\/a>; earlier this month, it debuted a music video. <\/p>\n

SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, has condemned Xicoia’s \u201cAI actor,\u201d but it has regulations around other uses of the technology. Its rules stipulate that consent from performers must be given for the use of digital replicas. \u201cConsent not obtained before death must be obtained from an authorized representative or the union,\u201d reads its guidance. <\/p>\n

Representatives for SAG-AFTRA didn’t immediately respond to questions Wednesday. <\/p>\n

In an email, writer-director Coerte Voorhees and producer John Voorhees said SAG guidelines were followed. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe we are serving as a demonstrator for how to do it ethically and correctly, especially in the case of working with a deceased actor\u2019s estate and family,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs Deep as the Grave,\u201d formerly titled \u201cCanyon of the Dead,\u201d was shot several years ago but has been stuck in postproduction. It’s based on a true story about the archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, whose Arizona excavations uncovered Native American history. The AI version of Kilmer plays Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist. The cast includes Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin. <\/p>\n

Coerte Voorhees said Kilmer, who identified as part Native American, was drawn to the project five years ago. Producers are seeking distribution with the hope of releasing the film this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very unfortunate that his health at the time prevented him from playing this role which spoke to him spiritually and culturally,\u201d Voorhees said. \u201cWe are honored to collaborate with his daughter Mercedes, who brings her own filmmaking experience, to bring this character to life in the way that we had all originally imagined it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.click2houston.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 A year after the actor’s death, a generative AI version of Val Kilmer will co-star in an independent film, in one of the boldest uses yet of artificial intelligence in moviemaking. First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled \u201cAs Deep as the Grave.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2335755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[399326,452449,452451,21741,452450,23239,351715,336217,452452],"class_list":["post-2335754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-abigail-breslin","tag-abigail-lawrie","tag-earl-morris","tag-entertainment","tag-mercedes-kilmer","tag-technology","tag-tom-felton","tag-val-kilmer","tag-wes-studi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/An-AI-rendered-Val-Kilmer-will-posthumously-appear-in-a-new.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2335754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2335756,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335754\/revisions\/2335756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2335755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2335754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2335754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2335754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}