The New WILLY WONKA Movie To Be Helmed By PADDINGTON Director Paul King

The upcoming Willy Wonka film project is about to take a big step forward with the addition of director Paul King. King is best known for his work on the Paddington films, which have both been wonderfully entertaining. 

Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the Willy Wonka intellectual property from the Roald Dahl estate last year, and they are developing it with producer David Heyman (Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Gravity) The film will be "a new movie centered around the eccentric character."

The film will not be an origin tale, but a standalone movie focused on Wonka and his early adventures. it was later revealed in another report that the movie will focus on "a young Willy Wonka and how he met the now iconic Oompa-Loompas on one of his earlier adventures."

In Roald Dahl's novel, Wonka came across the Oompa-Loompas in Loompaland. He invited them to work in his chocolate factory because he was concerned about their survival. I'm sure you all remember that Lommpaland is a very harsh and dangerous environment. 

It was also previously reported that Ryan Gosling wants to play Willy Wonka and that he was the studio's first choice. I think Gosling would kill it in the role. I can see him getting really weird. We're still not sure if Warner Bros. is going to go in that direction, so we'll have to wait and see.

According to THR, King is in final negotiations to direct Willy Wonka, and I think that he would be a solid choice. Seeing what he's done with the Paddington film it's easy to see that he can handle the fun, crazy, and whimsical aspects of the story.