Variety – Val Kilmer voices Knight Rider
On Sunday, February 17, 2008, NBC is airing the new made-for-TV movie Knight Rider. If all goes well, NBC will turn it into a TV show.
From 1982 to 1986, William Daniels played the voice of the car KITT in the original Knight Rider show. Now, the honor goes to Val Kilmer. NBC originally wanted Will Arnett from the TV show Arrested Development and the movie Let’s Go to Prison (2006), but his contract with General Motors prevented him from accepting the part.
Ford is providing cars for the new Knight Rider and is taking an active role in the marketing and branding of the movie. GM found out about the Ford connection and asked Arnett to decline.
“I was very excited at the prospect of playing the part of KITT,” Arnett said. “However, because of a long relationship with General Motors as the voice of GMC Trucks, I had to respectfully withdraw from the project.”
This mess will air on Feb. 17, so I’m anxious to see how bad it is!