Overview
- The trailer, which premiered Wednesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, features a digital Val Kilmer as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, delivering the line “Don’t fear the dead and don’t fear me.”
- The production says Kilmer’s family approved the use of his likeness, was paid for it, and supplied archival video, photos and voice recordings used to build the AI performance under SAG-AFTRA guidance.
- Kilmer was cast years earlier but was too ill to shoot, he died in 2025, and the filmmakers say the AI version now appears on screen for about 77 minutes.
- Early response highlights both curiosity and discomfort, with social posts praising the technology and others flagging issues like lip-sync and a voice that does not fully sound like Kilmer.
- The indie team hopes to release the film later in 2026 with distribution still to be set, as the industry’s larger fight over posthumous digital likenesses continues after recent strikes and prior voice recreation in Top Gun: Maverick.