Even though he passed away in 2025, they have used A.I. technology to put Val Kilmer in an upcoming film.

He never actually filmed this movie, and yet here he is.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/ente...8d1107f0c88ff0&ei=30

This is exactly what has the whole acting community quaking in their boots. If AI can bring dead actors back to life, or create actors who never existed at all, who needs live actors that want to be paid? Yes, AI can do it and the answer is Nobody.

Now how it lands with the public is a different matter. I don't like it, especially the resurrection part. It feels creepy, but look at how they used filmed images of people like John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando in commercials a long time ago. It wasn't state of the art AI back then, but it was with Estate approvals.

For Val Kilmer, his family approved this movie. They claim he would have approved it, as he did use a dubbed voice track in "Top Gun Maverick".

Would he have really? Who can say? Is it an Estate cash grab? Who can say?

But it is fair to say that unless there is a big backlash and money is lost, other Estates of even bigger stars are going to consider their options too. Many of these Estates are just run as a businesses by people who had only fleeting relationships with the principle, if even that. Their purpose is to generate cash through royalties and merchandise. An AI version of a deceased actor really is immortality and easy enough to justify for someone's great-great nephew, once removed.

The public should reject the idea, but I fear maybe not. Imaginery friends are already being replaced by Alexa and ChatGPT and parents seem to be OK with it. Wait a few years and see where that ends up.