THE FIRST IMAGES of late film star Val Kilmer returning to the big screen via artificial intelligence were unveiled in Las Vegas yesterday.

A youthful, digital version of Kilmer as a Catholic priest appears in the trailer for As Deep as the Grave.

At one point, Kilmer’s character kneels down and tells a child: “Don’t fear the dead and don’t fear me.”

Kilmer, best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, died of pneumonia in April 2025 at the age of 65.

“As Deep as the Grave” follows archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris – the latter credited by some with helping inspire the fictional Indiana Jones – and originally cast Kilmer before the coronavirus pandemic.

Health problems forced Kilmer, who was battling cancer, to step away from the role. But after pandemic delays, the Voorheeses revisited the project as AI technology advanced.

They recast Kilmer digitally as Father Fintan, an early Catholic missionary suffering from tuberculosis who traveled to the US southwest for the dry climate and opened missions in the Four Corners region.

Brothers Coerte and John Voorhees, director and producer of the film, said they hope to release the historical drama by the end of the year.

The Voorheeses did not detail the technical process behind their film, but said digitally reviving Kilmer was a “painstaking process.”

The filmmakers said they approached Kilmer’s children, Mercedes and Jack, after concluding the role could still be realised.

The family gave its approval and granted access to Kilmer’s video archives, which were used to recreate the actor at multiple stages of his life.

“Following this process, working with the family… we can actually demonstrate the right way to do it,” Coerte told AFP.

In a statement, Mercedes Kilmer said her father would have wanted to be included in As Deep as the Grave.

“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” Mercedes Kilmer said.

“This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”

-With additional reporting from - © AFP 2026