Tom Cruise was very adamant that if they did another Top Gun film, Val Kilmer would have to appear in it. 62-year-old Val agreed to star in the highly-anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick. However, he had lost his voice after going through several treatments for throat cancer years ago.
Luckily, there have been lots of technological improvements since the first film came out in 1986. A London tech company called Sonantic used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to re-create Val’s voice for the new film.
AI technology was used for Val Kilmer’s voice in the new ‘Top Gun’ film
They reportedly used some old recordings of his voice and it looks just like he’s speaking normally in the new movie. The film’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer previously spoke out about how much it meant to have Val return for the sequel.
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He said, “He [Tom Cruise] said, ‘We have to have Val, we have to have him back. We have to have him in the film.’ And he was the driving force. We all wanted him, but Tom was really adamant that if he’s going to make another ‘Top Gun,’ Val had to be in it.”
Jerry added, “He’s such a fine actor, and he’s such a good individual. We had such a good time on the first one and wanted to bring some of the gang back together again.” He also shared that it was a very emotional experience to have the original stars back on set for a new story.
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