After Gene Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in 2005, it’s Timothée Chalamet’s turn to play the eccentric Willy in Wonka. The comedy is notably produced by David Heyman (Harry Potter) and directed by filmmaker Paul King (Paddington). Alongside the Call Me By Your Name actor, viewers will find a very British cast with Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean), Olivia Colman (The Crown) and Hugh Grant (Love Actually). The film is inspired – without being an adaptation – of the characters of Roald Dahl in the famous novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964). This is not the first time that a work by the writer has been adapted for the big screen (James and the Big Peach, Matilda or Sacrées Sorcières).
The project is not new. It had been the subject of discussion for several years in Hollywood. In this origin story, the Warner Bros studios return to the youth of the master chocolate maker. The young Willy Wonka, dreamer and a bit of a magician, must confront the “Chocolate Cartel”, which already occupies the flourishing sector. And if some fans were expecting to find a dark universe à la Tim Burton -director of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005-, the trailer released on July 11, reveals a magical and Victorian world. Hugh Grant’s Oompa-Loompa is a nod to those who accompanied Gene Wilder. The final sequence also pays a nice homage to the 1971 film.
The first shots of Wonka, where we discover the dancing and singing talents of Timothée Chalamet, presage a musical. In an interview with Time, the actor reveals that he recorded some songs in the Abbey Road studio in London, where the film was shot. His performance, the antithesis of his latest interpretations, promises to be surprising. “The experience working on Wonka has been positive. It wasn’t about tapping into the darkest emotions. It’s a good thing to be outside your comfort zone and to be in adequacy with stranger parts that don’t quite correspond to you, ”reports the Franco-American to Time.
$125 million has been released for the prequel centered around the confectioner’s story. After Dune, It or even Barbie (expected on the big screen on July 19, 2023), Warner Bros promises yet another success for Wonka. See you in theaters on December 13, 2023.
