Timothée Chalamet Will Play a Young Willy Wonka In A New Origin Story Movie

One of the most iconic children's literary characters of all time, Willy Wonka, has been brought to life on the big screen a handful of memorable times—there was Gene Wilder's definitive portrayal in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and Johnny Depp's divisive 2005 interpretation. Now, Timothée Chalamet is taking over the role in Wonka, a brand new take that's described as a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Below, a few key things to know about this intriguing project.

Timothée Chalamet leads a star-studded cast.

Chalamet will star in the title role of Willy Wonka, an imaginative young inventor who's yet to become the legend we all know and love from Roald Dahl's books.

Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson and Sally Hawkins are just a few of the legendary British actors who have also joined the cast, though their roles haven't yet been announced. The ensemble also includes Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Mathew Baynton, Jim Carter, and Rich Fulcher.

Hugh Grant will play one of Wonka's Oompa Loompas:

Chalamet as Wonka and Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa.

It will be a musical.

Chalamet sings and dances as Wonka.

"The film tells the story of a young Willy Wonka, who comes to an uptight European center of chocolate with all these very fancy chocolate shops that sell candy at sharply inflated prices," director and co-writer Paul King told People. "He brings this riot of color and energy and the future, and a lot more joyous sense of it."

King adds, "We try to evoke that through these kind of dance sequences there. And there's a couple of really big numbers in there, and there's an amazing sort of zero-gravity set piece [and] some really lovely numbers."

The director of Paddington is at the helm.

The project is in incredibly safe hands—King, who directed both perfect installments in the Paddington movie series, is directing Wonka. He also co-wrote the script alongside his Paddington 2 co-scribe, Simon Farnaby. Wonka shares several producers and crew members with the Paddington movies, including Harry Potter producer David Heyman, editor Mark Everson and costume designer Lindy Hemming.

The story takes place before Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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Dahl-heads will know that there are two books centered on Charlie Bucket and his adventures with Willy Wonka—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the weirder, less-adapted Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. But Wonka goes beyond the Roald Dahl canon, focusing instead on the early years before Willy Wonka became an eccentric, reclusive chocolatier. Plot details are scarce, but Warner Bros has described the film as "an exploration of the vivid, mythical beginnings of the imaginative young inventor before he becomes the renowned scrumdiddlyumptious Mozart of chocolate.”

Wonka will premiere on December 15, 2023.

A still from Wonka

Watch the first trailer, above. The film will likely hit streaming platforms sometime in 2024.

Emma Dibdin

Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.