Wonka Tried and Failed to Recreate an Iconic Gene Wilder Scene

Wonka arrives in theaters next week, with the Paul King directed film serving as an origin story for Willy Wonka and, in a sense, a prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The latter film, originally released in 1971, starred Gene Wilder as the candy maker and featured several iconic scenes and while Wonka has its own homages to Wilder's take on the character, star Timothée Chalamet reveals that there is one scene from the beloved movie that they tried and failed to recreate. Speaking with BBC Radio 1, Chalamet explains that the iconic cane fall scene from Wilder's film proved to be a lot more complicated than it would appear.

"Maybe I shouldn't even say this because I don't feel like we failed, but failure is important but we tried in the sort of opening chocolate store sequence for Slugworth, Prodnose, and Fickelgruber, introduced the evil chocolatiers, we tried a bit to get that roll in," Chalamet explained. "And it required like, we put a magnet on the bottom of the cane and then a magnet on the floor because he leaves it in place and then the role itself is nearly like, impossible to accomplish but actually getting the cane to stay… so we figured in the original they must have built a tiny hole in the ground or something for Gene Wilder but I don't know."

Chalamet Explains Why Wonka Isn't Just a Cash Grab

Chalamet also recently explained that while the film is a new take on a beloved character, it was the song "Hat Full of Dreams" that helped win him over to Wonka as something more than just a cash grab.

"Like many people, when there are remakes, I feel very protective over the original character and versions you love," Chalamet explained. "Your eyebrows go up with skepticism about [whether] this is a legitimate, worthwhile story or a cynical money grab. But I was reading the first three pages of the script, and the song 'Hat Full of Dreams' was in there. And there was no music to accompany it, but the lyrics were so clever. [It's] about this young Willy, who was definitively not the crazy, cynical, kind of jaded, brain-fried version that we see in the two prior films but was very hopeful, young, ambitious, won't-take-no-for-an-answer, maybe a little naive. I think that's very clever."

What Is Wonka About?

Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl's most iconic children's book and one of the best-selling children's books of all time, Wonka tells the wondrous story of how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today. The film is described as an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem, and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor. Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time—proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you're lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.

Wonka will also feature performances from Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Love, Actually), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Keegan Michael Key (The Prom, Schmigadoon!), 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).

Director Paul 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. David Heyman (Harry Potter, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) is producing with Luke Kelly (The Witches) and Alexandra Derbyshire (Jurassic World: Dominion). 

Wonka opens in theaters December 15th.