Due to ongoing health concerns following his cancer treatment, Val Kilmer, 62, will not play Madmartigan in the recently released Disney+ sequel series Willow.
The throat cancer survivor was unable to take part in Disney+’s relaunch of Willow, in which he would have reprised his 1988 depiction, because to health difficulties during the epidemic.
“As COVID took over the world, it became insurmountable,” showrunner Jonathan Kasdan explains. “We were preparing in the spring when it peaked. Val also resisted the urge to speak up.”
“We had to figure out a way to keep the story we wanted to tell him about how his journey was unfolding,” he explained.
“I remember seeing Val shortly after this thing started and telling her, ‘Listen, we’re doing this, and the entire world wants Madmartigan back,’” Kasdan continued. “Not nearly as much as I do,” he replied.
“As I walked away, he hugged me. ‘I’m still very strong,’ he said as he lifted me. And I thought to myself, ‘Wonderful.’ We began planning his appearance in the first season. To be honest, we couldn’t get him until late in the procedure.”
Regardless of his decision, Kasdan stated that Kilmers has the opportunity to appear in the new series.
“We wanted to commemorate his spirit while also leaving the door open to any future possibilities. “We’ve attempted to engage with him in a way that allows him to be heard and felt, if not seen,” Kasan said.
Kilmer had a throat cancer diagnosis in 2015, but he did not go public with it until 2017. His choice to receive chemotherapy was motivated by his ex-wife, 61-year-old English actress Joanne Whalley, and his children Jack and Mercedes.
He originally turned down conventional care in the hope that the tumors would be cured by his Christian Science faith.
Moreover, Kilmer underwent a tracheotomy, a surgical operation that connected the windpipe to a hole in the front of the neck and greatly changed the sound of his voice.
Kilmer continued to play Iceman, though, because to developments in artificial intelligence technology that made it possible for movies to replicate his distinctive voice patterns from recordings of him speaking.
Kilmer originally hid the fact that he had cancer. But ultimately he opened up about his emotions in interviews, his autobiography I’m Your Huckleberry, and his documentary Val, which is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
“I’ve been cancer-free for more than four years now, with no recurrence,” he claimed in I’m Your Huckleberry. “I am deeply grateful.”
Kilmer explained on Twitter how painting gave him solace due to his voice damage. However, he stated that when one item is taken away, another is given in its place.
“My creative juices were boiling over and pouring out of me, but I had no voice to express them. I rediscovered my creative side and began writing and drawing again. “Art provided me with a healing experience.”
Kilmer is a gifted actor who appreciates the healing power of creativity. Several people use different artistic activities before or after cancer treatment, such as singing, dancing, painting, or crafts.
Some people turn to art as a way to process their feelings after losing a loved one to cancer. No matter when or how you approach art, it has been shown to have positive therapeutic impacts on mental health.
It’s true that engaging in creative activities can lower stress and enhance mental health in as little as an hour, according to a 2016 study that was published in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. The author asserts that regardless of one’s level of artistic proficiency or experience, it is true.
Although though figuring out how or why we get particular types of cancer is frequently difficult, it is important to be informed.
Smoking, drinking, and the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is frequently found in women and can result in cervical cancer, are all risk factors for throat cancer. There is a connection between throat cancer and the STD, which can afflict both men and women.
According to Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center physician Jessica Geiger, HPV can lead to cancer in both men and women. The same HPV virus types that cause cervical cancer also cause throat cancer.
Men in their 40s or 50s who have never smoked or just infrequently hav