Val Kilmer to Voice KITT

An unusual twist has scored a star for American television network NBC's new Knight Rider movie.  Due to actor Will Arnett's conflict of interests Val Kilmer will now voice the show's supercar, KITT.

Arnett, of Arrested Development fame, was asked to step down from the role by General Motors because the actor has served as the voice for GMC Trucks over the last ten years.  Despite having already recorded his voice-overs as the talking car, Arnett stepped down, according to Daily Variety.

He told the entertainment industry publication, "I was very excited at the prospect of playing the part of KITT in the new Knight Rider movie. ... However, because of a long relationship with General Motors as the voice of GMC Trucks, I had to respectfully withdraw from the project."

KITT, formerly a GM-made Pontiac Trans-Am, has been re-branded as a Ford Mustang GT500.  Ford is also taking on a huge chunk of the marketing for Knight Rider.

No doubt NBC is sad to see Arnett go, but happy to have Kilmer on board.  Kilmer, well known for his work in Top Gun, Batman Forever, and Heat, should help generate some buzz about the movie.

If the film is well received, NBC will use it as the pilot in a new Knight Rider series.

Editor's note: The author originally reported that the original KITT was a Pontiac Thunderbird.  Obviously, and as many of our readers pointed out, this was not the case.  A change has been made to the text to correct that error.