‘Willy Wonka’ Remake Eyes Unexpected Stars For Lead Role

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a classic, but the Tim Burton/ Johnny Depp remake, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was kind of an abomination. It is honestly surprising that a remake is already in the offing again, but here we are. Warner Bros knows that existing IP is easier to market than original content.

The movie has actually been in the works for a few years with everyone from Ryan Gosling, to Donald Glover, and even Ezra Miller in line to play the candymaker. Now it is being reported that the two stars in the lead for the role are Spider-Man’s Tom Holland and Dune’s Timotheee Chalamet. There’s always a chance that Miller could still get the role. He’s a darling for the studio and a main feature in both the DCEU (Flash), and in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Franchise. However, he’s run afoul of the media in the last year with a few incidents that could start to make him less interesting to WB.

The script for the film is coming from Simon Rich (Man Seeking Woman, American Pickle, Miracle Workers), and that is actually a really good sign. It also doesn’t hurt that Paddington director Paul King is set to helm the movie.

While we don’t know much about the film, we do know that the movie is going to shift to an earlier period in Wonka’s life and focus on his origin. That means we’ll probably get to see him meet the Oompa Loompas for the first time and see how he built his candy empire.

Willy Wonka is currently slated for a March 17, 2023 release date, but release dates don’t really mean much anymore, so we’ll see what happens.