Val Kilmer's Last Film Role Revived with AI a Year After His Passing

LATE Hollywood star Val Kilmer has been resurrected with AI for his final film role a year on from his tragic passing.

The and Top Gun star passed away in in April 2025, and a year on he will star in a posthumous role, with a first look now revealed.

Val Kilmer sadly died in April 2025Credit: AFP

Five years before his death, Val was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, in As Deep as the Grave.

But Val was too sick to make it to the set as he battled throat cancer, with him now appearing as an AI-generated version of himself in the movie.

An AI-generated version of the actor will appear in “a significant part” of the finished film, as per Variety.

The outlet reports that the project “uses both younger images of Kilmer, many of them provided by his family, and footage from his final years to show his character in various stages of his life”.

The audio also uses the actor’s voice, which, in his later life was damaged by a tracheal procedure.

The film’s director Coerte Voorhees said has since said: “He was the actor I wanted to play this role.

“It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest.

“I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn’t do it.”

Coerte added: “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 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,” he added.

Last April, Val’s daughter announced his passing, telling the New York Times her father died surrounded by his family and friends.

His daughter, Mercedes, also said her father had been in 2014 but later managed to recover.

He including a tracheotomy which significantly impacted his ability to speak.

Val became a household name when he played fighter pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun alongside .

After finding success on the beloved classic, Val went on to play his biggest role as Batman in Batman Forever.

In the 1995 superhero flick he took on as The Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face.

He also had huge roles playing musician Jim Morrison in The Doors as well as starring in True Romance, Heat and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

The American’s incredible spell of blockbusters in the 80s and 90s made him one of the highest paid stars of that generation.

Val’s final career role saw him where he first found global success.

Val found fame in Top GunCredit: Getty