Val Kilmer Stars Posthumously in Indie Film Using Generative AI

An independent production becomes the first feature film to cast a deceased actor in a lead role through AI, with full estate permission and SAG-AFTRA compliance.

Director Coerte Voorhees originally cast Val Kilmer for As Thoroughly as the Grave five years ago, but the actor's declining health prevented filming before his death in April 2025. Now, according to ComicBook.com, the production will use AI technology to recreate Kilmer's likeness and voice for the lead role. Not a cameo or supporting part, but the film's central performance.

This marks a shift from Hollywood's previous posthumous AI experiments, which have largely been limited to brief appearances or digital doubles for living actors. Unlike big-budget productions that can afford extensive CGI, this low-budget indie film is using AI as a necessity rather than a spectacle. The production secured permission from Kilmer's estate and his daughter Mercedes, who stated that the actor viewed emerging tech with optimism.

The timing stands out. Just last week, according to The Guardian, the UK government reversed course on plans to allow AI companies to train on copyrighted works without an opt-out mechanism, a victory for artists and content creators worried about unauthorized use of their work. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced the government no longer has a preferred option and will prioritize protecting intellectual property.

Meanwhile, the technical capabilities for this kind of resurrection have expanded dramatically. Medium reports that March 2026 alone saw twelve major AI model releases, including Lightricks' LTX 2.3, a 22-billion parameter diffusion model generating 4K video with audio, and ByteDance and Canva's Helios, capable of producing 60-second videos. OpenAI reportedly released GPT-5.4 with a 1-million-token context window.

The Kilmer project follows SAG-AFTRA guidelines and compensates the estate, according to No Film School, but it raises concerns about the uncanny valley problem: whether audiences will accept a full performance from a deceased actor, rather than a brief nostalgic appearance.

State governments are scrambling to establish guardrails. JD Supra reports that Tennessee passed bills prohibiting AI from representing itself as a mental healthcare professional, while Colorado and Vermont advanced similar healthcare-related AI bills. New Jersey's Assembly Science, Technology and Research Committee, according to NJ Spotlight News, passed a seven-bill package requiring disclosure of AI in political ads and companion chatbots, with violations incurring fines up to $20,000.

The broader context involves escalating concerns about non-consensual AI use. UN News highlights a crisis of AI-generated fake abuse targeting women and girls, noting that despite new laws like the EU AI Act and the US Take It Down Act, enforcement lags due to resource shortages and cross-border jurisdictional issues.

Arts Professional reports that UK arts sector leaders, including UK Music and Equity, welcomed their government's copyright reversal as a victory for IP rights, though the government has yet to define its new regulatory framework.

Estate permission may become the new baseline for posthumous AI performances, creating a potential revenue stream for heirs. Indie productions could increasingly turn to AI for casting deceased actors when budgets cannot support traditional CGI. SAG-AFTRA compliance suggests union guidelines are adapting to accommodate AI resurrections with proper compensation. The uncanny valley tolerance of audiences will be tested by full-length performances rather than brief cameos. State-level regulation is fragmenting, with different jurisdictions taking wildly different approaches to AI disclosure and licensing.

The real test comes when As Thoroughly as the Grave reaches audiences. If viewers accept Kilmer's AI performance, it could open floodgates for estates to license deceased performers' likenesses. If they reject it as unsettling, the experiment might remain a curiosity rather than a template.

One question remains unresolved: whether audiences will distinguish between consensual estate-approved resurrections and the unauthorized fake videos proliferating elsewhere, or whether all posthumous AI performances will blur into the same uncomfortable category of digital necromancy.