Val Kilmer Dies: Cause of Death and Years-Long Health Battle, Explained
A new feature traces Val Kilmer’s long health fight and the legacy of an AI-assisted return, setting the context before getting to the detail you clicked for.
The first trailer for As Deep as the Grave doesn’t just preview a period drama — it unveils a fully realized Val Kilmer performance created with generative AI. Kilmer appears as Father Fintan at different ages, from a haunted elder to a much younger priest, stitched together from archival material and new technology for what the filmmakers are positioning as one of the most extensive AI-assisted roles yet.
Writer-director Coerte Voorhees told Variety the part was written for Kilmer from the start. Working with Mercedes Kilmer and the late actor ’s estate, the team combined existing footage with AI tools to complete the character, while following union guidelines and compensating the estate. The result, the filmmakers say, gives Kilmer a presence that spans the entire movie.
Kilmer is on screen for more than an hour in As Deep as the Grave.
Final years and passing
According to PEOPLE — citing his daughter Mercedes and his death certificate — Val Kilmer died on April 1, 2025 , at age 65 in Los Angeles. The immediate cause was pneumonia; he passed at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, surrounded by family and friends, and was cremated on April 7, 2025.
- Contributing factors listed on the certificate: acute and chronic respiratory failure
- Squamous cell carcinoma at the base of the tongue
- Malnutrition
- Tracheocutaneous fistula
PEOPLE also reported Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer around 2014–2015 and underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and a tracheotomy that permanently affected his voice and breathing. Though he later recovered from the cancer itself, the long-term complications weakened his respiratory system.
Val Kilmer remains a towering figure for movie fans — from Top Gun and The Doors to Batman Forever, Tombstone, and Heat — and the film ’s approach is designed as a tribute to that legacy as much as a storytelling choice.
Release plans
The first look was shown at CinemaCon before the trailer went wide. A U.S. release date for As Deep as the Grave has not been announced.