At the beginning of the month, Warner Bros. Pictures revealed that Wonka, its Willy Wonka original story inspired by Roald Dahl’s novel, has officially begun filming in the UK. Academy Award-nominee Timothée Chalamet (Dune, Call Me By Your Name) is starring in the titular role, which was previously played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. Today, Chalamet took to social media to show off the first photo of himself as Wonka.
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“The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last … 🏭WONKA🍫,” Chalamet wrote on Instagram. You can check out his photos, one in costume and one of his cane, in the post below:
Wonka will also feature Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Love, Actually), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), and Keegan Michael Key (The Prom, Schmigadoon!). The story is set to occur before the events of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Paul King (Paddington) is set to direct. King is also reuniting with several of his Paddington stars for the new film including Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Matt Lucas. Other confirmed cast members include Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Rich Fulcher (Marriage Story), Paterson Joseph (Noughts + Crosses), Calah Lane (The Day Shall Come), Colin O’Brien (The Mothership), Natasha Rothwell (White Lotus), Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education), and Ellie White (The Other One). David Heyman (Harry Potter, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) is producing with Luke Kelly (The Witches) and Alexandra Derbyshire (Jurassic World: Dominion).
Heyman previously hinted at the prequel film’s story. “We are still trying to figure out how to tell that story, what the story is,” the producer told Collider. “It’s a prequel, it’s not a sequel. What makes Willy-when we find him at the chocolate factory doing the golden ticket, where is he before that? What leads him to that place where he’s locked himself away? It’s how does he get there? So we’re playing around with that. It’s not a remake… But it’s possibly an origin story… It’s challenging because you don’t have Dahl, you don’t have a Dahl book, and yet you have a Dahl character. But I think there’s a lot in his character that suggests who he is and also where he might come from or what his childhood or his middle age might have been like. So we’re exploring that. We’re discussing it. We’re in the very early stages and very excited about what lies ahead.”
What do you think of the first look at Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka? Tell us in the comments!
Wonka is currently scheduled to open in theaters on March 17, 2023.
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