Timothée Chalamet, the star of award-winning movies like “Call Me By Your Name” and “Lady Bird”, is signed on to star as Willy Wonka in Warner Bros’ upcoming reboot of the “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” movie franchise.
The film’s producer, David Heyman, made the official announcement that Timothée Chalamet would take on the role of young Willy Wonka, which was previously played by Gene Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in 2005.
This upcoming film will serve as prequel to Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” that focuses on Wonka’s childhood long before he began running his candy empire. The actor revealed a first look photo of him as Willy Wonka on Sunday, and it’s safe to say fans are finding him “scrumdiddlyumptious”.
WONKA ✨✨🍫 pic.twitter.com/ozaerNtroP
— Timothée Chalamet (@RealChalamet) October 10, 2021
The script was written by Simon Rich and won’t rely on previous adaptations or source material—it will be an original story. Details are scarce, but it’s known that Warner Bros plans for Wonka to take place years before Charlie Bucket ever finds a Golden Ticket. That being said, there shouldn’t be any mention of Veruca Salt or Augustus Gloop—the other winners of Wonka’s famous contest.
No release date has been set yet, but the film has been projected to debut in 2023. Alongside Chalamet will be a notable cast consisting of Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman and Jim Carter.