Timothée Chalamet to Star in Willy Wonka Origin Movie
Timothée Chalamet, welcome to a world of pure imagination.
In the tradition of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory comes Wonka, a new movie starring the famous chocolatier. This film will be an “origin tale” for the character explaining how he came to be such an eccentric. And he will be played as a younger man by Dune and Call Me By Your Name star Timothée Chalamet.
Deadline reports that the film will not only be an origin story for Wonka (wasn’t Charlie and the Chocolate Factory an origin story too? It had that whole thing about his mean dad the dentist? Whatever.) it “will mark the first time Chalamet gets to show off his singing and dancing skills with several musical numbers set to appear in the film.” They also note Chalamet was the producers’ top choice for the role, but that a busy schedule has made it hard for him to commit to subjecting adorable yet obnoxious children to his Jigsaw Killer Jr.-style devious traps.
While another Wonka about a young Willy might not sound like the most original concept, the film is being directed by Paul King, whose Paddington and Paddington 2 are among the most beloved children’s films of recent years. (Paddington 2 in particular has a visual style that seems like it would fit very nicely into the candy-coated world of Willy Wonka.) So his involvement is reason for curiosity. And if you love Timothée Chalamet, this could be his Golden Ticket to becoming a comic leading man in the mold of Gene Wilder. Can he pull it off?