Western with a digital version of Val Kilmer gets first trailer and sparks debate

A Western called As Deep As the Grave has released its first trailer, and it's not just a typical movie promo. The film has become the first known case where a feature film is built around an authorized digital version of a major Hollywood actor created by generative AI — Val Kilmer, who died in April 2025.

How They Brought the Role Back to Life

Kilmer was cast in one of the roles in As Deep As the Grave while still alive, but due to production delays, he never managed to film a single scene. After the actor's death, the team didn't abandon the project; instead, they decided to complete it differently: using a coordinated digital reconstruction of his image and voice. These scenes are now shown in the first trailer, which was presented in the United States.

According to the project's description, the creators worked with British company Sonantic to restore the sound of the actor's voice based on old recordings. This is an important detail: it's not about a random celebrity impersonation, but a production decision within an already-launched film where the actor was supposed to appear from the start. The visual part was also created as an authorized deepfake — that is, with permission, not as a fan experiment or viral video.

Why This Is a Precedent

Hollywood is already used to digital de-aging, stunt doubles, and CGI characters, but this situation is different. At the center of the film is not just a processed frame or a restored fragment, but a full digital version of an actor who physically did not participate in the filming. Therefore, the release of the trailer immediately turns As Deep As the Grave into a test case for the entire industry: what exactly is the public ready to accept as a permissible continuation of a role after the performer's death. In this case, several factors coincided that will cause the project to be scrutinized particularly carefully:

• Kilmer was officially cast before his death
• the film doesn't use a random archival episode, but completes an unfilmed role
• the voice was created from previous recordings of the actor with the participation of Sonantic
• the visual image is presented as an authorized digital reconstruction
• the trailer brings such a practice from behind-the-scenes production into the public sphere

This is exactly why the news is important not only for Kilmer fans, but for producers too. If earlier discussions about AI in cinema were often theoretical, now the industry has a specific commercial example: a film whose marketing directly relies on the digital presence of a deceased actor. This means the debate shifts from the question 'can we do this?' to 'where is the line and who sets it?'.

Where the Line Is Drawn

Even in the most careful scenario, such technology doesn't eliminate ethical and legal questions. Who is considered the author of the screen image if the actor didn't deliver the lines on set? Is the consent of rights holders enough if viewers perceive the performance as new live work by the performer?

And how do you separate respectful completion of a project from exploitation of a recognizable face after death? The trailer doesn't answer these questions, but that's exactly why it became an event. There's another nuance too.

Kilmer's case might look relatively safe for studios because it's based on an already-existing casting and an attempt to complete a specific role, not to insert a digital copy of an actor into just any new scenario. But as soon as such an approach is accepted by the market, the next step will almost inevitably be an expansion of the practice: more digital doubles, more contracts for posthumous use of the image, more disputes over where memory ends and licensed IP begins.

What This Means

As Deep As the Grave will likely enter history not only as an unusual Western, but also as an early marker of a new norm for cinema. If viewers and the market accept Val Kilmer's digital version as a legitimate part of the film, studios will receive a signal that generative AI can be used not only for de-aging and post-production, but for actually bringing actors back to the screen after death.