Val Kilmer recalled his role in Batman in his devastating final Instagram posts just weeks before his death.
The Hollywood star died of pneumonia aged 65 on Tuesday following a lengthy health battle, his daughter Mercedes Kilmer revealed.
At the end of February, Kilmer posted a video of himself trying on a Batman mask in a nod to his superhero character in Joel Schumacher’s 1995 movie, Batman Forever.
In the clip, likely taken around 2021, he sat in a room with artist David Choe and spoke in a raspy voice, having damaged his vocal cords from throat cancer treatment.
The Top Gun star said, “I’m ready,” and jokingly added, “It’s been a while,” before pulling on a black and white homemade Batmask mask over his face and looking intently into the camera.
Choe remarked, “You look great,” before Kilmer panned the camera to a painting he had made of the superhero.
Kilmer shared two other posts after the Batman video of his artwork, one showing a pink, blue, and black splatter on a purple canvas.
He captioned it: “Some art hums like a power chord - loud, untamed, and unforgettable.”
The final post, shared a week ago on March 22, captured a pale blue and red toned piece.
“It’s got that late-night glow. Cool tones with a low burn, like when the camp fire cools down but you’re still wide awake,” the acting legend penned alongside it.
Kilmer was one of Hollywood’s most prominent leading men in the 1990s before numerous spats with directors and co-stars and a series of flops dented his career.
He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, discussing his diagnosis and recovery in his 2020 memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry.
Stars like Josh Brolin and Josh Gad paid tribute to the actor following the news of his death.
“RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon,” Gad wrote.
“You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,” Brolin posted on Instagram.
“There's not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
Kilmer married British actress Joanne Whalley in 1988, after meeting her on the set of Ron Howard’s fantasy Willow.
The duo - who divorced in 1996 - share two children, Melissa and Jack.
