00:00Val Kilmer is returning to the big screen in a new way.
00:03The late actor's AI-generated likeness is featured in the first trailer for As Deep as the Grave,
00:08which debuted Wednesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
00:12The indie film from writer-director Court Voorhees stars Abigail Laurie, Tom Felton, and Abigail Breslin,
00:19and follows real-life archaeologists Anne and Earl Morris as they uncover ancestral Puebloan remains in the 1920s.
00:26Kilmer appears as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, with his likeness saying,
00:35The Top Gun and Batman Forever star died in April 2025 at age 65 after a long battle with throat
00:41cancer.
00:42Though he had originally been cast in the role, Kilmer was unable to film due to his health.
00:47According to the production company Firstline Films, Voorhees ultimately chose to digitally recreate Kilmer's performance
00:53with the support of the actor's daughter, Mercedes Kilmer.
00:56In a previous statement, Voorhees said Kilmer felt a deep connection to the role and to the story of Anne
01:01Morris,
01:02widely recognized as the first female archaeologist in North America.
01:06He added, quote,
01:07It was very unfortunate that his health at the time prevented him from playing this role,
01:11which spoke to him spiritually and culturally.
01:14Mercedes Kilmer also voiced her support in the decision, saying, quote,
01:18He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling.
01:24This spirit is something that we are honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.
01:30The use of AI to recreate actors has become an increasingly debated issue in Hollywood,
01:34as lawmakers and unions like SAG-AFTRA push for protections around posthumous digital likenesses.
01:40For more updates on this story, be sure to head over to thehollywoodreporter.com.
01:44This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
01:48The Hollywood Reporter News.
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