Timothée Chalamet Explains Why He Jumped in to Play Willy Wonka in WB's WONKA
Casting Timothée Chalamet in the role of Willy Wonka in Warner Bros.'s upcoming prequel musical film Wonka was an interesting choice. During a recent interview with Vogue magazine, the actor explained why he wanted to play the character, and it was simply because he wanted to make a movie for a younger, more optimistic audience. He said:
“To work on something that will have an uncynical young audience, that was just a big joy. That’s why I was drawn to it. In a time and climate of intense political rhetoric, when there’s so much bad news all the time, this is hopefully going to be a piece of chocolate.”
When previously talking about his version of Wonka, the actor said: “This is a Willy that’s full of joy and hope and desire to become the greatest chocolatier.”
I’ve had the opportunity to watch footage from the movie at CinemaCon and you can watch us talk about what we saw here. I’m personally not completely sold on Chalamet as Wonka. It’s a hard role to play, and I just don’t think that anyone could capture the spirit, tone, energy, and magic that Gene Wilder brought to the character. But, Chalamet gives it his best shot.
The new film is based on the classic characters created by Roald Dahl, and the story will focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory. Oh, and Hugh Grant plays an Oompa Loompa.
Neil Hannon of the band The Divine Comedy is writing original songs for the prequel, and Paul King is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Paddington 2 co-writer Simon Farnaby.
The movie also stars Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Tom Davis (Paddington 2), Simon Farnaby (the Paddington films), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Rich Fulcher (Marriage Story), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Paddington 2), Paterson Joseph (Noughts + Crosses), Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!), Calah Lane (The Day Shall Come), Matt Lucas (Paddington), Colin O’Brien (The Mothership), Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus), Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), and Ellie White (The Other One).
The movie opens in theaters on December 15th!