Val Kilmer Returns to Screen in AI-Generated Performance for 'As Deep as the Grave'

Val Kilmer is returning to the big screen in a posthumous performance generated entirely by artificial intelligence, a development that pushes the boundaries of technology in filmmaking. The first trailer for the historical drama "As Deep as the Grave," unveiled at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, features a " digitally recreated likeness " of the late actor, who died in 2025. The project represents a significant leap from prior uses of AI for voice synthesis, creating a complete, on-screen character for what filmmakers say is more than an hour of screen time, and setting a new precedent for posthumous performances. How Generative AI Brought Kilmer Back to the Screen Kilmer was originally cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, five years before his death, but his battle with throat cancer made him too ill to ever make it to the set. According to the film’s writer and director, Coerte Voorhees, the role was "very much designed around him," drawing on Kilmer's…