Highlights
- Val Kilmer will posthumously appear in As Deep As The Grave using generative AI a year after his death from pneumonia.
- Filmmakers say it is the first ever performance enabled by generative AI and have worked closely with Kilmer's estate and daughter Mercedes.
- Kilmer had originally been cast five years ago but was unable to work on set due to illness.
Filmmakers say they worked closely with Kilmer's estate and his daughter Mercedes on the project.
They said in a press release: "At the time that he was cast Kilmer expressed that the character of Fintan spoke to him both culturally and spiritually."
The film written and directed by Coerte Voorhees follows southwestern archaeologists played by Abigail Lawrie from Tin Star and Harry Potter star Tom Felton as they excavate Canyon de Chelly in Arizona also exploring the lives of the Navajo people.
AI voice technology
First Line Films has not revealed exactly which technology it will use but described it as "state-of-the-art generative AI technology."
In 2021 Kilmer used AI voice platform Sonantic to create an AI-generated version of his voice which had been permanently damaged after he underwent a tracheostomy for throat cancer.
That voice was used in Top Gun Maverick in which Kilmer reprised his famous Iceman role.
As Deep As The Grave will use Kilmer's voice recorded after his tracheostomy. The film is currently in post-production and is expected to be released later this year.
The film arrives as the entertainment industry wrestles with the growing impact of AI on its workforce.
Last year the launch of Tilly Norwood the first fully AI-generated actor sparked debate across the industry. SAG-AFTRA the US actors union recently ended a month of negotiations with major studios without reaching a new deal.
