During a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet admitted that he was originally skeptical about playing a younger version of an iconic pop culture figure like Willy Wonka. He revealed that after reading Paul King and Simon Farnaby’s script for Wonka, he was so impressed with their lyrics his worries about the project were relieved.
“Like many people, when there are remakes, I feel very protective over the original character and versions you love,” Chalamet said. “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,” he continues, referring to the movie’s opening musical number. “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 to expect in Wonka?
Based on the extraordinary characters created by Roald Dahl, Wonka is directed by Paddington filmmaker Paul King from a screenplay he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby. It is produced by David Heyman, Luke Kelly, and Alexandra Derbyshire.
“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,” reads the synopsis.
The prequel will be led by Chalamet as a young version of the eccentric Chocolate Factory owner. Joining him are Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson, Matthew Baynton, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby, Rich Fulcher, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Paterson Joseph, Keegan-Michael Key, Calah Lane, Matt Lucas, Colin O’Brien, Natasha Rothwell, Rakhee Thakrar, and Ellie White.
