Fans stunned as Val Kilmer is resurrected onscreen via AI for final film role… one year after death
A year after he died of throat cancer, Val Kilmer will come back to life via artificial intelligence for his final role.
The Hollywood star died on April 1, 2025, at the age of 65, but he had already signed on to star in As Deep as the Grave.
Unfortunately, he was unable to shoot due to his poor health, but the filmmakers decided to use AI to see Kilmer’s portrayal of Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist Father Fintan.
Kilmer’s estate and his two children (Mercedes and Jack) have approved the use of generative AI using younger images and footage from his final years, much of which was provided by his family.
Her family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of it. He really thought that what he wanted his name on was an important story.
It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ Writer and director Coerte Voorhees said this is what Val wanted, although some have called it controversial. Diversity.
One year after his death from throat cancer, Val Kilmer (filmed in January 2014) will come back to life via AI for his final role
Variety also released the first AI-generated image of Kilmer in the film.
His daughter also issued a statement to the publication to show her support for the move: ‘He has always looked optimistically at emerging technologies as a tool to expand storytelling possibilities.
‘That spirit is something we all honor in this special film of which he is an integral part.’
The film stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin.
Fans weren’t too excited about Kilmer’s resurrection, as many had X comment disdainfully on Variety’s post.
One wrote: ‘I don’t care how much permission they need to do this, no one should be allowed to do this. Resurrecting dead people’s faces with GenAI imo should be illegal.’
Another said: ‘No moral attire can change how sick and greedy this is. The family should be ashamed tbh.’
This isn’t the first time AI technology has been used for one of Kilmer’s roles, leaving fans with tears in their eyes as he returns to screens as Lieutenant Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in the Top Gun sequel.
The Hollywood star (filmed in July 2019) died on April 1, 2025, at the age of 65, but he had already signed on to star in As Deep as the Grave.
Kilmer’s estate and his two children (Mercedes and Jack) have given approval to use generative AI, using younger footage, much of it provided by his family, and footage from his final years (Mercedes and Val seen in Los Angeles in November 2019)
The iconic movie star, known for hits such as Top Gun (seen in 1986) and Batman, died of pneumonia on April 1, 2025.
Following the sad news of his death, his touching final film, in which he starred alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, resurfaced online.
He was famous for his role as Iceman in the original 1986 Top Gun film and teamed up with lead star Tom, 62, to make sure he could return as Kilmer’s on-screen rival.
Kilmer’s vocal cords were damaged following a tracheotomy following a throat cancer diagnosis in 2014, but artificial intelligence technology was used to reproduce his voice in the 2022 blockbuster.
Fans were moved to tears when Iceman, who had been promoted to Admiral, returned to the screens alongside Tom Cruise’s Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.
Kilmer’s latest film role brought tears to fans’ eyes as he returned to screens as Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in the Top Gun sequel alongside Tom Cruise’s Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.
Iceman communicated with Maverick through words written on the screen, and artificial intelligence technology was used to recreate Kilmer’s voice so that some of his words could be heard out loud.
Following an emotional on-screen speech in which Iceman advises Maverick to ‘let go’ of the past and move on, scenes saw Maverick attending his friend’s funeral.
Viewers were moved to tears by the emotional scenes at the time, and fans rewatched the touching moment following the news of Kilmer’s death.
The iconic movie star, known for hit movies such as Top Gun and Batman, died due to pneumonia on April 1, 2025. TMZ It was confirmed after his daughter announced last week that a lung infection killed her father.
Kilmer publicly battled throat cancer 11 years ago and had to undergo an emergency tracheotomy, which permanently affected his speech (Val, seen in 2019)
The underlying causes listed on the Los Angeles County Health Department’s death certificate are ‘acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure, and squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue.’
Squamous cell carcinoma, also known as laryngeal cancer, is a type of cancer that develops in the thin, flat cells lining the throat, including the larynx and pharynx.
Kilmer publicly battled throat cancer 11 years ago and had to undergo an emergency tracheotomy, which permanently affected his speech.
The actor announced in 2020 that he had been cancer-free for four years, but his death certificate confirmed that the disease had relapsed.
Other contributing factors include malnutrition and ‘tracheocutaneous fistula’, which is an abnormal communication between the trachea and skin and often occurs after the tracheostomy tube is removed.
