Val Kilmer may be gone, but his image lives on according to his own rulebook, his daughter says. Mercedes Kilmer, 34, appeared on NBC's Today to defend the use of an AI-generated version of her late father in the upcoming film As Deep as the Grave, where he appears as a Native American spiritual leader and priest named Father Fintan. She said her father pursued the project before his death as a way to "set precedent" so actors could retain control of their likeness and be paid comparably to an in-person performance.
The movie's producers say they followed SAG-AFTRA guidelines on consent and compensation, using old recordings, footage, and family photos to build the digital Kilmer—whose voice was also recreated for 2022's Top Gun: Maverick. Mercedes acknowledged blowback from industry workers nervous about AI, but said others see it as a tool to protect performers' intellectual property. "I think this is a really historic precedent, and I'm really proud of him," she said, adding that her father's character "speaks 1920s Navajo language," which was somewhat recovered for the film, showing AI can expand human possibilities rather than replacing them.
She stressed that the family won't greenlight future movie appearances without Kilmer's prior blessing, though she floated video game characters based on him as one possible avenue. For them, she said, the project serves as both tribute and template: a concrete example of how estates can insist AI uses are licensed, limited, and paid for. "Now we know that we're protected," she said. According to Variety, awards organizations are now having to decide whether such appearances could be eligible for honors.
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