Timothée Chalamet To Play Willy Wonka in Warner Bros.’s Upcoming Movie

Timothée Chalamet To Play Willy Wonka in Warner Bros.’s Upcoming Movie

By Movieguide® Staff

Warner Bros. confirmed that Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet will play the titular candy inventor Willy Wonka in the studio’s third adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved story.

Deadline reported that the upcoming project would focus on Wonka’s life before opening his famous chocolate factory. Chalamet is known for a variety of roles, including INTERSTELLAR and LITTLE WOMEN.

The new adaptation includes musical numbers and dance routines that show a new side to Chalamet that fans have not yet seen on screen.

“We are still trying to figure out how to tell that story, what the story is,” producer David Heyman, 58, said in a previous interview with Collider. “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.”

Warner Bros.’s previous adaptations included 1971’s WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY featuring Gene Wilder, and 2005’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, which featured Johnny Depp.

Movieguide previously reported on the upcoming project:

Willy Wonka and his world of pure imagination will appear in theaters once again in 2023.

Warner Bros.’s Willy Wonka prequel is called WONKA and has an official release date set for March 17, 2023.

David Heyman, who produced PADDINGTON and GRAVITY, is set to produce WONKA alongside PADDINGTON director Paul King.

Gene Wilder’s 1971 portrayal of Willy Wonka did not elaborate on the character’s backstory. However, Johnny Depp’s Wonka interpretation in 2005’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY included flashbacks to Wonka’s time as a child.

“It’s challenging because you don’t have Dahl, you don’t have a Dahl book, and yet you have a Dahl character,” Heyman told Slash Film in 2016. “But I think there’s a lot in his character that suggests who he is and also where he might come from or what his childhood or his middle age might have been like. So, we’re exploring that. We’re discussing it. We’re in the very early stages and very excited about what lies ahead.”

Movieguide® gave favorable reviews to both the 1971 and 2005 adaptation for their family-friendly content and imaginative take on the classic novel.

Heyman and King’s work on PADDINGTON was honored at the Movieguide® Awards as one of the Top Ten Best Movies for Families in 2015.

Movieguide® hopes that WONKA will contain similar family-friendly content and be a joy to watch in 2023!