With rumors circulating that Knight Rider might be added as a regular series to NBC’s fall schedule, I felt I should do some research. As a kid, I enjoyed KITT’s voice. Today, many of us know it better as the voice of the teacher on the corny 1990s sitcom Boy Meets World. As KITT, he had a smarmy tone of voice and even had some sarcastic comments.
But the new KITT seemed different. It might be because it’s new and the voice hasn’t found its own personality yet. So I wanted to find out who does the voice for the new iconic car.
Do you know who it is?
It’s Val Kilmer! I couldn’t believe it when I read it, either. Apparently, the network originally expected Will Arnett from Arrested Development to voice the role. He even recorded the part for the made-for-TV-movie. But his longstanding relationship with a competing automaker would be in jeopardy if his voice issued through the speakers of any Ford vehicles, let alone the iconic Mustang brand. So he had to “respectfully” withdraw his voice two weeks before the premiere. Methinks the competitor had something to say about his decision, which is why it was so sudden and close to the premiere.
Luckily, Val Kilmer saw the Mustang symbol in the sky and came to save the day. He re-recorded the voice for KITT and signed on to do the voice if the network picked up the show. And because it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of Michael Knight’s son, it also looks like we’ll be hearing a lot more of Val Kilmer’s voice.
