Val Kilmer will be coming back to life for his final role through AI one year after his death from throat cancer.
The Hollywood star died at the age of 65 on April 1, 2025 but had already signed on to star in As Deep as the Grave.
However unfortunately due to poor health, he was unable to film, but filmmakers decided on using AI to see Kilmer portray Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist Father Fintan.
Kilmer’s estate and his two children – Mercedes and Jack – gave their blessing to use generative AI using younger images and footage of his final years, much of which was provided by his family.
‘His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this. He really thought it was an important story that he wanted his name on.
‘It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, okay let’s do this. Despite the fact some people might call it controversial, this is what Val wanted,’ writer and director Coerte Voorhees told Variety.
Variety also published the first AI generated image of Kilmer in the film.
His daughter also provided a statement to the publication to show her support for the move as she said: ‘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.’
Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi, and Abigail Breslin all star in the film.
Fans were not as excited about Kilmer being resurrected as many took to X to comment on Variety’s post with disdain.
One wrote: ‘I do not care how much permission they had to do this, no one should be allowed to do this. It should be illegal to resurrect the visage of dead people with genAI imo.’
Another said: ‘no amount of moral dressing is going to change how sick and greedy this is. the family should be ashamed tbh.’
This is not the first time AI technology was used for one of Kilmer’s roles as he left tears in fans’ eyes as he returned to screens as Lieutenant Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in the Top Gun sequel.
Following the sad news of his death, his poignant final film appearance in Top Gun: Maverick alongside Tom Cruise reemerged online.
He was famed for his role as Iceman in the 1986 smash hit original Top Gun movie and lead star Tom, 62, rallied to make sure Kilmer could return as his on-screen rival.
Kilmer’s vocal cords were damaged after a tracheotomy in 2014 following a throat cancer diagnosis but AI technology was used to regenerate his voice in the 2022 blockbuster.
Fans were reduced to tears when Iceman, who had been promoted to Admiral, returned to screens alongside Tom Cruise’s Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.
Iceman communicated with Maverick via typed words on a screen and AI technology was used to regenerate Kilmer’s voice so some of his words could be heard out loud.
After their emotional on-screen conversation, where Iceman advised Maverick to ‘let go’ of the past and move on, scenes saw Maverick attending his friend’s funeral.
Viewers were reduced to tears at the emotional scenes at the time and fans have been re-watching the poignant moment after the news of Kilmer’s death.
The iconic film star, known for hits including Top Gun and Batman, died from pneumonia on April 1, 2025, a death certificate obtained by TMZ confirmed, after his daughter revealed the lung infection killed her father last week.
Underlying causes listed on the Los Angeles County Department of Health 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 emergency tracheotomies which permanently affected his speech.
The actor revealed he had been free of cancer for four years in 2020 but his death certificate confirms the disease had recurred.
Other contributing factors include malnutrition, and a ‘tracheocutaneous fistula’ – which is an abnormal communication between the trachea and the skin, often occurring after a tracheostomy tube is removed.
