Can an AI Digital Ghost Truly Lead a Film? 

The boundary between life and the digital afterlife has never been thinner than in the upcoming Western drama As Deep As The Grave. The film features a substantial posthumous performance by Val Kilmer, who passed away in April 2025. 

While Kilmer was originally cast as Father Fintan, a role that reportedly meant a great deal to him, his declining health during his battle with throat cancer prevented him from ever stepping onto the set. 

Now, through a collaboration between his estate and generative AI technology, Kilmer returns to the screen for over an hour of the film’s runtime.

Between binary and biology

Director Coerte Voorhees’s production used archival footage, family photos, and AI to recreate the character’s physical likeness and distinct voice. The CinemaCon 2026 trailer showed the priest at various ages, from a spectral, weathered figure to a vibrant 30-something.

This was made possible by training neural networks on thousands of hours of past performances, allowing the AI to understand the subtle nuances of facial expressions and the specific cadence of speech that defined the actor’s career. 

Mercedes Kilmer publicly supported the project, noting her father, Val Kilmer, viewed emerging technology optimistically. The family sees AI not as a replacement but as an imaginative tool, offering a “prosthetic” for performers who lose physical abilities like voice or mobility.

The precedent for digital resurrection

Digital resurrection is now moving beyond mere cameos to integrated, full-role performances, a shift pioneered by Top Gun: Maverick (2022). In that film, AI authentically reconstructed a pre-cancer vocal timbre for a brief, emotional cameo, bridging the past and present.

Other legends have followed similar paths toward digital immortality. Bruce Willis, following his retirement due to aphasia, was famously associated with digital twin technology, sparking global debates on how an actor’s likeness might continue in commercials or film. 

James Earl Jones signed over the rights to his Darth Vader voice to the startup Respeecher before his death. This move guarantees the iconic Sith Lord’s voice will be preserved for future Star Wars projects, maintaining character integrity.

Balancing innovation and artistry

The use of AI in As Deep As The Grave occupies a delicate middle ground. While it allows a family to honor an actor’s final wish and offers fans a sense of closure, it also ignites a debate over the “soul” of a performance. 

Critics argue that digital recreations lack the spontaneous chemistry of live acting, yet proponents view these tools as a sophisticated new medium for creative expression.

Navigating new SAG-AFTRA and estate guidelines, the industry balances innovation and reverence. As Deep As The Grave is a poignant experiment, proving that a character’s story can continue long after the actor’s passing.