Following Warner Bros. Pictures’ official confirmation of Wonka, Collider brings word that the studio is reportedly planning to enlist MCU star Tom Holland or Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet for the titular role in the upcoming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel.
Holland and Chalamet are two of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors today with Holland finding success after his breakout role as Spider-Man in Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures’ blockbuster films. Meanwhile, Chalamet gained critical recognition for his performance in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name. Interestingly, this wasn’t actually the first time that the two young actors were both considered for a major role as Chalamet was reportedly also one of the many actors that were under consideration by Sony and Marvel for the role of Spider-Man.
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Wonka, based on a script by Emmy nominee Simon Rich (An American Pickle, SNL), will focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory. Set to debut on March 17, 2023, the film will be directed by Paddington‘s Paul King with David Heyman set to produce.
Pick up your copy of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory here!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been twice adapted for the big screen, including a hit 2005 version — also released by Warners — starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton, and most famously as 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder in his most iconic role.
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No direct feature adaptation has been made of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (though elements of it were used in both films), and Dahl was developing a third Wonka book titled Charlie in the White House before he passed away in 1990.
(Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty Images & Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
