Val Kilmer’s AI Trailer Exposes the One Thing Hollywood Can’t Fake

Alright, let's talk about 'As Deep as the Grave', a new drama that's getting attention for one particularly weird reason: it stars Val Kilmer… kind of. If you watched the recently released trailer, you might've been unsettled—and honestly, you weren't alone.

Here's the Setup

So, 'As Deep as the Grave' is a historical drama written and directed by Coerte Voorhees. The casting had a big name attached—Val Kilmer, playing Father Fintan, a character described as both a Catholic priest and a Native American spiritualist. This casting was decided back in 2020.

The major curveball: by the time production ramped up, Kilmer was already battling serious illness (he'd been fighting throat cancer for several years, and ultimately passed away in April 2025 at age 65). So he was physically unable to shoot his scenes. Instead of recasting the role or changing course, the filmmakers opted for something eyebrow-raising: they kept Kilmer in the film by recreating him using generative AI.

Yes, They Actually Used AI to 'Cast' Val Kilmer

In case you were wondering—yes, the Kilmer estate and his daughter Mercedes were officially involved in the decision to include him, posthumously, via artificial intelligence. There’s even a statement attributed to Mercedes that sort of dances around the AI issue:

'He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling. This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.'

You’ll note she doesn’t actually mention 'AI'—just 'emerging technologies'—which seems like a purposely vague bit of PR speak. Whether Val Kilmer himself would have signed off on this is between his family, his estate, and—frankly—a lot of lawyers. But it’s a huge, open question how much anyone should be cheerleading this sort of thing in the first place.

The Morality Problem (and the Look of It All)

Here’s where things really start to get murky: no matter how well-intentioned the filmmakers say they were, Kilmer didn’t have a chance to approve how his performance or even his likeness would be used on screen. The film is literally presenting AI-generated Kilmer as if it's him. It's making choices about one of Hollywood’s most distinctive actors—without him around to even weigh in. If that doesn’t make you feel uneasy, I’m not sure what would.

To be fair, this is just one piece of the mountain-sized debate around AI and dead actors—there’s not enough room in a single article to get into every layer. But let's be brutally honest: even if you set aside the ethical mess, the technical result is just... not good.

There's a long tradition of audiences getting weirded out by CGI resurrections or de-aging (think 'Rogue One' or the upcoming 'Alien: Romulus'), but in this case? It’s even less convincing. The 'uncanny valley' is real, and unless this movie uncorks an absolutely genius script, most people are probably just going to be distracted by how strange 'Kilmer' looks instead of following the actual story.

Why Did Anyone Think This Was a Good Idea?

• Val Kilmer was originally cast, but his health made filming impossible
• The creative team, with his family's approval, used AI to recreate him as a character
• The result in the trailer isn’t exactly convincing, and feels more like a tech demo than an emotional performance
• There’s a sticky moral question about using someone's likeness after they've passed away—especially when that person's not here to approve or protest
• No matter how you spin it, this probably isn't how most fans want to remember Val Kilmer

The bottom line: Yes, Val Kilmer was an incredible actor, and anything that brings us more of his work is tempting. But using AI to fake him back onto the screen isn’t a tribute—it’s more like a digital puppet show, and it leaves a bad taste.