I’m not sure we need anotherWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factorymovie, but if we’re going to get one, Warner Bros. sure is putting together one hell of an exciting creative team. PerThe Hollywood Reporter,PaddingtondirectorPaul Kingis in final negotiations to direct Warner’sWilly Wonka, a reimagining ofRoald Dahl’s beloved children’s bookCharlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Story details are being kept under wraps, but the screenplay comes fromMan Seeking Womancreator andformerSaturday Night LivewriterSimon Rich. ProducerDavid Heyman, who previously worked with King on thePaddingtonfilms, revealed in 2016 that the new movie would not be a remake, but a new approach to the iconic Dahl character.
At the time, he spoke to/Filmabout the early development stages on the script,
“It’s challenging because you don’t have Dahl, you don’t have a Dahl book, and yet you have a Dahl character. But I think there’s a lot in his character that suggests who he is and also where he might come from or what his childhood or his middle age might have been like. So we’re exploring that. We’re discussing it. We’re in the very early stages and very excited about what lies ahead.”
King’sPaddingtonfilms have been celebrated by critics and triumphed at the box office.Paddington 2tore it up in the UK last year and arrived stateside this January, earning more than $205 million at the worldwide box office and earning the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of all time. It’s still sitting pretty at 100% at the moment, and from critics to audiences to the kiddos who can’t get enough of the Marmalade-loving bear, everyone seems to agree that the Paddington pics are new family classics. Which is all to say that King is a damn fine pick for redirecting the franchise, especially with a creative, subversive writer like Rich behind the script.
They’ll surely have their hands full trying to find the right actor to take on the iconic character.Gene Wilderoriginated Wonka on-screen inMel Stuart’s 1971 classic andJohnny Depptook in the role, to rather divisive results, inTim Burton’s 2005 readaptation. No release date is set for Willy Wonka yet, so the studio has some time to find the right performer to fill those shoes.
