It seems like only yesterday that we got a Willy Wonka origin story, but in fact it was all the way back in 2005. That was Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which saw Johnny Depp as Wonka and delved into his backstory to discover what might drive a man to devote his entire life to confectionery (as it turns out, his mean dentist dad, played by Christopher Lee).
But now we’re going deeper! There’s a new origin film on the horizon from an all new creative team, and the sweet news is that Wonka is hitting cinemas on December 14.
Do we really need it? Well, a couple of factors make this one worth your attention. Firstly, Wonka stars Timothée Chalamet as the young Willy, charting the pre-fame adventures of the candy man. Secondly, it’s directed by Paul King, who gave us the universally beloved Paddington films (and the criminally underseen Bunny and the Bull), and it manged to capture one iota of the magic of those movies, we’re in for a good time.
That aside, the production has been shrouded in secrecy, with few plot details emerging as yet—not even a trailer. We do know that the supporting cast is, as the kids say, stacked: Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Mathew Baynton, Rich Fulcher, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Paterson Joseph are all on hand to breathe life into the script by King and frequent collaborator Simon Farnaby, who also has an acting role.
Fans of British TV comedy will recognise many of those names, and little wonder; King directed a ton of comedy before transitioning to features, calling the shots on cult classics like Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh, so he’s got a hefty contact list from which to call in favours. Odds are good we’re in for a take that embraces the surreality of the old Roald Dahl children’s classic, and we can’t wait.
