Come with me, and you’ll see, a boy of pure imagination.
Timothée Chalamet has shared a first look at himself in costume from the upcoming musical prequel Wonka. Chalamet steps into the shoes and slips on the tophat of the enigmatic candy maker Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl’s bestselling kids’ novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Wonka has already been played by Gene Wilder in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Johnny Depp in 2005’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Both films adapted Dahl’s book, with both taking some liberties. (Dahl famously despised the 1971 version, although it has become a multi-generational family favorite with viewers.)
The new film, Wonka, is a prequel that will explore the character’s life before he came to own his crazy candy factory. It is not directly based on Dahl’s work. The screenplay was penned by Simon Farnaby and Paul King, who previously collaborated on Paddington 2. King, who also helmed Paddington and Paddington 2, is also directing Wonka. It isn’t clear which version THIS Willy Wonka will be inspired by, but it’s possible that Farnaby and King will draw from all three familiar iterations.
As for the pictures that Timothée Chalamet posted, you can see he has the familiar purple velvet coat, a colorful scarf, and a brown top hat, although this one looks a little worn. He does not seem to be channeling Depp’s take, which had pasty white skin, a jet black bob, what looked like lipstick, and black sunglasses. But that was a decidedly weird take on the character, cooked up by the actor and director Tim Burton.
Check out Chalamet in full Wonka drag below:
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Wonka also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, and Jim Carter, although their roles haven’t been revealed and it’s doubtful anyone will guess, as, like I said, this isn’t based on an existing work.
Filming began in September. It has already been announced that Wonka will open on March 17, 2023.