Are you ready for Timothée Chalamet to introduce you to a world of pure imagination? Per Deadline, the Oscar nominee has landed the lead role in Warner Bros. and the Roald Dahl Story Co.’s upcoming film, Wonka.
A musical prequel to the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka will star Chalamet as a younger version of the zany chocolatier and follow his adventures prior to opening his world-famous chocolate factory. It will be Warner’s third adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s story, after the classic 1971 film starring Gene Wilder, and Tim Burton’s maligned 2005 remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp.
Despite an internet campaign on behalf of multi-hyphenate performer Janelle Monae, sources told Deadline that Chalamet was always the top choice to play the eccentric inventor if they could make it work scheduling-wise. Chalamet has a big fall head of him, starring in Dennis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated Dune remake, which is due to hit theaters on October 1, as well as Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch opposite Frances McDormand and Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
Paul King, who directed Paddington 2—a.k.a the best-reviewed movie of all time—is set to direct Wonka from the screenplay he wrote with Simon Farnaby, after takes by writers including Simon Rich, Simon Stephenson, Jeff Nathanson, and Steven Levenson. While there’s no word on who’s composing the music, sources confirmed to Deadline that Chalamet will be singing and dancing in “several musical numbers” throughout the film, a first for the Call Me By Your Name actor. No word yet on who’s been tapped to compose the music, but anyone who’s seen Chalamet’s Nicki Minaj-inspired LaGuardia High School talent show performance or his “Statistics” rap knows that Timmy T is, in fact, quite the showman.
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