On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, legendary actor Val Kilmer, best known for Batman Forever and Top Gun, died at 65 years old. His daughter, Mercedes, revealed pneumonia to be the cause of death to The New York Times. The actor passed away in his Los Angeles home. He has a long history of battling throat cancer.
Who is Val Kilmer?
He first gained fame for playing Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun. Kilmer would reprise the role 36 years later in the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which would end up being his final movie role.
After starring in Top Gun, he followed it up with roles in Willow and Kill Me Again. In 1991, Kilmer starred as Jim Morrison in The Doors biopic. Morrison was not the only musical icon Kilmer played. He played Elvis Presley in Tony Scott’s True Romance.
In 1993, Kilmer starred in Tombstone with Kurt Russell. This continued his hot streak in the ’90s, as he then starred in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever.
Batman Forever is the third installment in Warner Bros’ Batman series that started with Tim Burton’s movie in 1989. Kilmer took over the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman from Michael Keaton.
While Batman Forever made over $336 million at the box office, Kilmer’s time as the character was a one-off. He would be replaced by George Clooney in the final installment in the series Batman & Robin.
Kilmer starred in Michael Mann’s Heat the same year as Batman Forever came out. Throughout the rest of the decade, Kilmer starred in The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Ghost and the Darkness, The Prince of Egypt, and Joe the King.
Throughout the rest of his career and before he died, Val Kilmer starred in several direct-to-video movies like Double Identity, Blood Out, and Seven Below.
One of his last major appearances in a movie was when he cameod in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. He then produced, wrote, and served as the cinematographer of a Prime Video documentary about himself, Val.
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