In news no one asked for, Timothée Chalamet is set to play candy factory owner Willy Wonka in a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel titled Wonka. According to Deadline, the musical film will explore the early adventures of Wonka as a young boy. The film will premiere in theaters on March 17, 2023, per People.
Deadline reports that Wonka will be the first film to showcase Chalamet’s singing and dancing skills. Warner Bros. wanted the 25-year-old actor so badly, it held production in order to accomodate his schedule.
Paddington director Paul King is set to film the movie based on a script by Simon Farnaby. David Heyman and Luke Kelly will serve as producers and Michael Siegel and Alexandra Derbyshire as executive producers.
In an interview with Collider in 2018, Heyman spoke about the creation of the prequel. “It’s a prequel; it’s not a sequel. What makes Willy—when we find him at the chocolate factory doing the golden ticket, where is he before that? What leads him to that place where he’s locked himself away? It’s, ‘How does he get there?’ So we’re playing around with that.”
This will be the third film take on the Willy Wonka story following Paramount’s famed 1971 adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, and Warner Bros.’ 2005 remake with Johnny Depp in the role. Both films are based on the 1964 children’s book of the same name by Roald Dahl.
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