Val Kilmer unable to reprise role in ‘Willow’ due to ongoing health issues
Following a battle with throat cancer, Val Kilmer had to cancel plans to reprise his role as Madmartigan in the newly released Disney+ Willow reboot. The actor was diagnosed with the illness in 2015 and underwent chemotherapy and two tracheotomies. However, he also had “a procedure on his trachea [that] has reduced his voice to a rasp and rendered him short of breath”.
In 2020, Kilmer reported that he had been cancer-free for four years, although he must use an electric voice box to speak and use a feeding tube to eat. Kilmer planned on starring in Willow despite his ongoing health issues, yet showrunner Jonathan Kasdan shared with Entertainment Weekly, “As Covid overtook the world, it became insurmountable.”
He continued: “We were prepping in the spring of the year that it was most happening. And Val reluctantly didn’t feel he could come out.” Kilmer starred in the original 1988 fantasy film as a warrior who must help Warwick Davis’ character, Willow, to save Elora, a baby destined to bring the downfall of an evil queen.
According to Kasdan: “I remember going to see Val right after this thing started to get some momentum, and I said, ‘Listen, we’re doing this. And the whole world wants Madmartigan back. And he was like, ‘Not as much as I do.'”
He recalled: “He embraced me when I left. He picked me up, and he said, ‘See? I’m still super strong.’ And I was like, ‘Great.’ We started building out the first season with the intent of having him appear. [It was apparent he couldn’t star in the show] until pretty late in the process, frankly.”
“We wanted to leave open the door to any possibility in the future and also honour the spirit of him. We’ve tried to do that and work with him in a way so that he is felt and heard, if not seen.”
Kilmer reprised his role as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick earlier this year, although his throat issues meant he could only deliver limited dialogue in a short scene.
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