Val Kilmer Appears in AI-Resurrected Role in ‘As Deep as the Grave’ Trailer

Is this the future of movies? I certainly hope not. What feels like the next unavoidable step—and a possible breaking point—for Hollywood’s concerns about artificial intelligence involves Val Kilmer appearing in a new film years after his death. There is some “legitimacy” to this casting choice, as the late actor’s family has approved the project.

Titled “As Deep as the Grave,” the film was originally developed with Kilmer cast in a supporting role before he passed away in 2025. A trailer has now been released, and I remain unconvinced. Sorry. Try focusing on Kilmer’s eyes—there’s an eerie lack of presence, as if the soul is missing. That same empty-eyed quality also appears in “The Irishman,” where de-aging effects are used on Robert De Niro.

Kilmer portrays a priest with spiritual connections, a part he had agreed to before his death. He appears several times throughout the trailer, depicted at different points in his life, including a moment where he seems ghostlike and unsettling.

Don’t fear the dead and don’t fear me,” Kilmer says to a child in one scene. He might as well be speaking to the audience.

The film stars Abigail Lawrie (“Tin Star”) alongside Tom Felton (“Harry Potter”), with Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin also in supporting roles. It follows Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris as they work to uncover aspects of Navajo history. Production was delayed for five years due to a combination of the pandemic and Kilmer’s illness. Because of budget limitations, the director initially considered cutting the Father Fintan scenes entirely but ultimately decided to restore them, recognizing their importance to the narrative.

Coerte Voorhees, writer and director of “As Deep As the Grave,” explained, “[Kilmer] was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest. I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn’t do it.”

Should “As Deep as the Grave” now be added to Kilmer’s IMDb filmography? It better not. This feels like a stunt, and one that shouldn’t be granted legitimacy.