Overview
- Kilmer, who never reached the set, will appear as Father Fintan in As Deep as the Grave through a generative recreation built from family-supplied photos and videos with AI voice modeling informed by his prior Sonantic work.
- Director Coerte Voorhees says pandemic delays, a limited budget, and the inability to reshoot or recast led the independent production to pursue the AI approach.
- Producers state they followed SAG-AFTRA guidance and compensated Kilmer’s estate, as the move revives industry discussions over posthumous image rights and AI use.
- The character’s illness in the story is used to align with the condition of Kilmer’s later-life voice, which the team incorporated into the performance.
- The film, centered on archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly and featuring Abigail Breslin and Tom Felton, remains independent and is seeking distribution.