Mr Vorhees acknowledged that some people might consider the move controversial, but insisted “this is what Val wanted.”
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” he said.
“He really thought it was an important story that he wanted his name on. It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, ‘Okay, let’s do this’.”
As Deep As the Grave is the true story of archaeologists from the Southwest of America, Ann and Earl Morris.
It explores their effort to trace the history of the Navajo people and depicts their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona.
The film, which is currently in postproduction, is set to be released sometime in 2026 after being delayed by the Covid pandemic, which stretched production to six years.