Death once closed the curtain on an actor’s career for good. Artificial intelligence may be about to change even that. Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, will appear in the upcoming film As Deep as the Grave. But filmmakers aren’t using old footage or repurposing scenes Kilmer shot before his death. In fact, he never filmed a single scene for the movie. What you will see are images, voice and a performance recreated by generative AI.
Now before we immediately enter creepy territory, there’s an important difference here. Kilmer had actually agreed to play Father Fintan in the film years before his death, but his battle with throat cancer prevented him from filming. But in the name of compensation, his family supported the decision to complete the role using AI. According to his daughter Mercedes Kilmer, her father embraced emerging technology and genuinely wanted to be part of the film. And it is this that considerably changes the conversation.
So, for those side-eyeing Hollywood, remember that Kilmer himself had already given his consent. There was involvement from his family and, according to those closest to him, that this is what Kilmer himself wanted. But despite this the enormous question remain
When an actor dies, should their career die with them?
Thanks to AI, we could potentially see performers continue appearing in movies decades after they’re gone. Can you imagine seeing Humphrey Bogart starring in a new film in 2035. Or Audrey Hepburn appearing in a romantic comedy nobody ever filmed. Regardless of time, technology may eventually make those performances so convincing that you simply would not be able to tell the difference. And quite franklyI’m not sure how I feel about that.
I completely understand the concept of granting people their wishes long after their death. And it is admirable that technology, in this case, is able to provide something death and illness took away from the artist. In fact, Kilmer had already embraced AI during his lifetime when technology helped recreate his speaking voice after throat cancer damaged it.
But there is also a very thin line between finishing someone’s work and creating new work in their name. Consent has to matter, and this case it was freely given. But what happens when they didn’t? Can an estate make that decision decades later? And at what point does an actor stop being a human performer and become intellectual property that Hollywood can keep rebooting forever? That’s where things become uncomfortable.
As Deep as the Grave may actually prove that AI can be used respectfully. The filmmakers say they followed SAG guidelines, worked with Kilmer’s family and compensated his estate. But the technology isn’t going away. And perhaps the question Hollywood needs to answer now isn’t whether AI can bring actors back from the dead.
It’s whether sometimes we should simply allow them to rest.
