How was Val Kilmer’s surprise vocal appearance in “Willow” conceived by the showrunners of the Disney+ series?
Many fans of the movie Willow were hoping to see Madmartigan, the iconic mercenary played by Val Kilmer, on the occasion of the Willow series broadcast on Disney + last fall. Although planned by the production, the cameo unfortunately could not materialize due to the Covid protocol and the fragile health of the American actor.
But if he did not appear in this first season, Madmartigan was not forgotten, neither by the fans nor by the showrunners of the series. His name is also used by Christian Slater the first time he appears in the program, before it was revealed that this name was only a loan, the idea of replacing Val Kilmer would anyway was badly received by the fans.
And if Madmartigan does not appear in the series, he still makes a short vocal appearance for a few seconds. Unable to read his lines himself (the latter notably underwent two tracheotomies to treat his cancer of the larynx), Val Kilmer gave way to none other than his own son, Jack Kilmer.
In the name of the Father
“Jon (Kasdan, the creator of the series) and I talked a lot, he had a lot of questions for me because both my parents were in the movie Willow”he explained to our American colleagues from ComingSoon. “On this occasion, I did a voice for one of the episodes, bringing back my father’s character, Madmartigan.”
Will a renewal of Willow for an additional season allow the iconic character to return in the flesh in the guise of Val Kilmer? There is no doubt that fans of the feature film would be delighted to see this hero of their childhood, like the emotion felt by fans of Top Gun during the actor’s surprise cameo in Top Gun: Maverick.
The renewal of the Willow series has not yet been announced by Disney+, but many fans are optimistic about the likelihood that a season 2 could see the light of day on the platform!