Actor Val Kilmer, 62, will not play Madmartigan in the recently released Disney+ sequel series Willow because he is still dealing with unresolved health difficulties from his cancer treatment.
Due to health issues during the pandemic, the throat cancer survivor was unable to participate in Disney+’s relaunch of Willow, where Kilmer would have reprised his 1988 portrayal.
According to showrunner Jonathan Kasdan, “As COVID seized the planet, it became insurmountable.” “In the spring of the year when it was most prevalent, we were preparing. In addition, Val reluctance felt unable to come out.
He explained, “We had to find a way to keep the tale we wanted to tell with him about how his journey was playing out.
“I remember going to visit Val soon after this thing started to get up some steam, and I said, Listen, we’re doing this and the entire world wants Madmartigan back,” Kasdan continued. In response, he said, “Not as much as I do.
“When I went, he hugged me. I’m still very strong, he added as he pulled me up. And I thought, “Great,” With the intention of having him show up, we started outlining the first season. Frankly, it wasn’t until rather late in the procedure that it became evident we couldn’t get him.
Kasdan underlined that Kilmers has the opportunity to participate in the new series despite his decision not to.
“We wanted to commemorate his spirit while also leaving the door open to any future possibilities. We have made an effort to engage with him in a way that allows him to be heard and felt, if not seen,” Kasan said.
Val Kilmer’s Battle with Cancer
Kilmer had a throat cancer diagnosis in 2015, but he didn’t discuss the condition in the media until 2017. His children, Jack, 27, and Mercedes, 30, whom he had with his ex-wife, English actress Joanne Whalley, 61, were the reason he ultimately decided to undergo chemotherapy. At first, he was not considering conventional treatment because he believed that his Christian Science faith would remove the tumors.
A tracheotomy, a medical operation that joins the windpipe to a hole in the front of the neck, was also performed on Kilmer, dramatically altering his speaking sound. However, Kilmer continued to perform as Iceman because of artificial intelligence technology, which allowed filmmakers to reproduce his distinctive speech patterns using recordings of him speaking.
Even though Kilmer first kept his struggle with cancer a secret, he finally opened up about it in interviews, his autobiography I’m Your Huckleberry, and his documentary Val, which is now available to watch on Amazon Prime.
In I’m Your Huckleberry, he claimed, “I have been free of cancer for more than four years now, and there has never been any recurrence.” “I am really appreciative.”
Kilmer has explained on Twitter how much solace he found in painting as a result of the damage to his voice. But when one item is removed, another is given, he said. My creative juices were boiling over and flowing out of me with little voice. I rediscovered my creative side and began writing and drawing again. I experienced the art as healing.
Kilmer is an experienced actor who is well aware of the therapeutic value of art. Some people use different artistic pursuits (such as singing, dancing, painting, or crafting) in conjunction with treatment or after overcoming cancer.
After experiencing a loss due to cancer, some people turn to art as a way to cope with their emotions. It doesn’t matter when or how you turn to art; its therapeutic effects on mental health are well-established and supported.
In fact, according to a 2016 study that was published in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, engaging in creative activities can lower stress and improve mental health in as little as an hour. According to the author, that holds true regardless of one’s artistic aptitude or experience.
It is crucial to remain informed even if it is frequently challenging to determine precisely how or why we develop particular types of cancer. Alcohol and cigarette use, as well as the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is typically linked to women and can cause cervical cancer, are all risk factors for throat cancer. The sexually transmitted illness, which has been linked to throat cancer and can also harm men,
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Jessica Geiger of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center stated that HPV can cause cancer in both men and women. The HPV strains that cause throat cancer are the same as the viruses that cause cervical cancer. The majority of patients with HPV-related throat cancer are guys in their 40s or 50s who never smoked or just sometimes used cigarettes.
