Teaser: Val Kilmer In “As Deep as the Grave”

Back in March came the news that late “Top Gun” and “Batman Forever” actor Val Kilmer will make one final appearance on screen with the help of generative AI.

Kilmer was cast in filmmaker Coerte Voorhees’ “As Deep as the Grave” in 2020. He was to play the role of Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist.

However, due to Kilmer’s throat cancer, he never shot anything for it, even as the film was “very much designed around him” and he was reportedly keen to be a part of the project.

To finish the film, Voorhees used generative AI to include Kilmer in the ensemble following receiving permission to do so from the Kilmer estate and Kilmer’s children.

Now, the results are on display in the first look footage from the film, which premiered at CinemaCon and has now been posted on the First Line Films official YouTube channel.

The film itself is the true story tale of Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris and their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona to try and trace the history of the Navajo people.

Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi, and Abigail Breslin star in the film, with the AI Kilmer said to be a ‘significant part’ of the movie.