Kilmer passed away in 2025 after battling throat cancer. Apparently his character will feature in over an hour of the movie.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/val-kilmer-ai-generated-new-movie-rcna264195
Kilmer passed away in 2025 after battling throat cancer. Apparently his character will feature in over an hour of the movie.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/val-kilmer-ai-generated-new-movie-rcna264195
So they’re just making money over a dead guy’s likeness. Business as usual then.
He was going to play the role before he died, and they decided to use AI to recreate his likeness instead of recasting.
So not quite as ghoulish as you might think.
How does that make it not ghoulish?
Not quite as ghoulish. Say 99% as ghoulish.
Exactly. I’m not saying it’s fine, just not as terrible as you might originally think.
I’m not sure if that’s a distinction worth making in this case
I’m not sure if this was a comment worth making, yet here you are.
I suppose time will tell ;)
“We were gonna skin Val and attach that to an advanced robotics puppet, but the studio said that was 100% ghoulish.”
“oddly, he had that explicitly prohibited in his will”
The victim had a choice.
When the Lich King gives you a choice, its ethical necromancy.
So just holding him to his contractual obligations after death then?
That’s not making it any better.
Will his estate see the amount he was contractually obligated for revenue, etc?
I’d imagine so, yes.
In that context, that’s more ghoulish.
Did anyone ask him if he thought this was ok?
From what I read, Kilmer gave the filmmakers the right to use his likeness for this purpose.