Warner Bros. has been attempting to remake some of the classic Roald Dahl films as there was new version of The Witches from director Robert Zemeckis released back in 2020 that starred Anne Hathaway and Octivia Spencer. The Witches didn’t make a huge impact as it was strictly released as an HBO Max exclusive and didn’t leave the biggest impression on audiences as it wasn’t able to surpass the quality of the original film from 1990.
The studio is hoping that their Willy Wonka prequel Wonka is going have a different result as they’ve hired Paddington director Paul King to direct and Deadline reports that they’ve added actor Timothee Chalament in that Wonka role. Chalament is leading Legendary’s Dune remake from Denis Villeueuve and plays the role of Paul Atreides, the cosmic messiah of the sci-fi franchise starter. Warner Bros. is still set to distribute Dune in October.
Mr. Wonka is the mysterious inventor and owner of the Wonka candy company known for keeping a low public profile as a way to keep his factory’s secrets. Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp have previously played Willy Wonka on the big screen.
This new film will be a prequel that will focus on Wonka before he creates the world famous chocolate factory. The latest draft of the script was penned by director Paul King and Paddington 2’s Simon Farnaby, the latter screenwriter recently worked on Disney’s new Pinocchio movie that is being helmed by Robert Zemeckis after Paul King exited to focus on Wonka.
Deadline states that Chalamet will get to sing and dance in the new film.
Sources also tell Deadline that Wonka 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.
Wonka as we’ve confirmed will primarily shoot at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England. The facility is currently being used for The Flash and is expected to be used for Aquaman 2 over the summer.
SOURCE: DEADLINE
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