Val Kilmer is the New Voice of Knight Rider’s Kitt

The Knight Rider backdoor pilot (set to premiere in less than two weeks on NBC) originally had Will Arnett as the voice of supercar KITT — that is, until car company GM found out that KITT was a Ford Mustang, and asked Arnett to pulled out. Being that voicing GM commercials is more lucrative than voicing a pilot for a possible TV show (I’m guessing, of course), Arnett agreed. Enter Val Kilmer, the new voice of KITT.

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For the better part of a decade, Arnett has done voice-over work for General Motors — as the voice of GMC Trucks. NBC’s new “Knight,” however, is “played” by a Ford Mustang.

What’s more, Ford isn’t simply providing cars for “Knight Rider.” It’s taking an active role in the marketing and branding of the pic, a backdoor pilot for a possible series. Ford’s logo even appears all over NBC’s on-air promos for the pic.

Not surprisingly, when GM found out about the Ford connection, it asked Arnett to pull out.

In any case, does it even matter who is voicing KITT? Although I gotta admit it, getting someone like Val Kilmer will probably get the show a little bit more attention. Mind you, not that Kilmer is as popular now as he once was, but he is a known name…

Speaking of which, here’s a new 30-second commercial for the upcoming 2-hour premiere of “Knight Rider”. I haven’t heard Kilmer in a while, so I don’t know if that’s his voice as KITT or still Arnett’s: