Val Kilmer Overwhelmed by His Return for 'Top Gun: Maverick' After Long Cancer Battle; Show Could Be the Hollywood's Biggest Star's Last Role

Val Kilmer, the emotional 'Top Gun' star, has opened out about how overwhelmed he feels to be returning as Iceman alongside Tom Cruise in the sequel Maverick. The actor lost his voice due to throat cancer, but he has unveiled an incredible new technique to communicate.

As Kilmer stated in his 2020 memoir, 'I'm Your Huckleberry,' Tom was Maverick, but Maverick's nemesis was Iceman. The two went together like salt and pepper. However, when news of a 'Top Gun sequel began to circulate in 2015. The actor was fighting throat cancer, which was stealing his voice and leaving him with a thin rasp and breathing problems.

Val Kilmer's Iceman Return in 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Val Kilmer is now cancer-free and has battled back enough that he can talk again, thanks to some astonishing new technology. He also frankly admitted how hard he fought to go back on the film with Cruise. And now that he is back where he belongs, the actor can finally talk honestly about his overpowering feelings.

'Top Gun: Maverick' opened in Cannes this week to rave reviews, with Kilmer's comeback appearing heavily in the accolades. The star's challenges have been recognized on television dramatically and touchingly. His character, Tom Kazansky, called Iceman, is now Admiral and Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet.

Despite their macho antagonism in the first film, Iceman is now Pete Mitchell's, nicknamed Maverick's, staunchest backer and the one who defends his position when others want him gone. He suggests Maverick for the task of teaching new fighter pilot recruits, which is essential to the plot of the film.

The two are reunited at Iceman's house in a touching sequence in the film. He is plainly in poor health and must converse primarily through a computer. In real life, science fiction-level technology has also assisted the actor in regaining his voice, Express reported.

This weekend, 'Top Gun: Maverick' reaches theaters, marking the comeback of one of the 1980s and 1990s' biggest cinematic stars. Val Kilmer reprises his role as Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 smash.

Although Tom Cruise is the main attraction in 'Top Gun: Maverick,' Kilmer has a significant part, and some younger audiences may be unaware of how huge a celebrity he once was. According to Comscore, Kilmer's films have grossed approximately $2 billion at the global box office throughout his long career.

At the global box office, Cruise has earned more than $10 billion. Kilmer, like Cruise, rose to prominence as 'Iceman,' the brash but cool opponent to Cruise's Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in 'Top Gun.'

Val Kilmer Reunites With 'Top Gun: Maverick' Stars

Following that iconic role, Val Kilmer went on to star in a long string of successful genre-spanning films, including superhero films like 1995's 'Batman Forever,' in which he played the Dark Knight, and memorable turns in Westerns as Doc Holliday in 1993's 'Tombstone,' biopics as Jim Morrison in 1991's 'The Doors,' and crime films as a bank robber in Michael Mann's 1995 masterpiece, 'Heat.'

Val Kilmer's off-screen health difficulties are weaved into the plot of 'Top Gun: Maverick,' adding a real-life emotional element to the sequel. If the new picture is Kilmer's final part, it will bring an end to one of Hollywood's most fascinating - and bankable - careers.

Kilmer was featured in 'Val,' an intimate documentary about his health struggles and career, last year. For years, he had filmed his interactions with his family and on film sets, as per CNN.

According to his daughter Mercedes Kilmer, Val Kilmer's appearance in 'Top Gun: Maverick' was particularly significant for the sick actor. The 30-year-old singer was on set to see her father record his sequence in front of a small group of close ones, and she described the reunion of Iceman and Maverick as amazing to behold.

Mercedes Kilmer stated that being able to film the version 'alongside all of his buddies' was a significant milestone for Val, who recently lost his voice after a two-year battle with throat cancer. Val's voice was lost as a consequence of a tracheotomy in 2014 following a throat cancer diagnosis, making it difficult to incorporate the 62-year-old actress in the sequel. After pleading for a cameo, executives consented, and Val was able to reprise his part as Lieutenant Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky owing to AI technology.

Filmmakers might utilize the program, dubbed Photoshop for voice, for voiceovers if they have a part in mind that would suit Val's tones. Val may also utilize the AI technology in his personal life to assist him to communicate rather than depending on a voice box, according to Daily Mail.