After announcing the full cast of Wonka in early October, Warner Bros. have given us our first look at the titular character as filming gets underway. The photos, posted to leading man Timothée Chalamet’s Instagram account, show the chocolatier dressed in his traditional Roald Dahl-penned garb of a top hat and tails. The outfit has the iconic eccentric Wonka details, like a gaudy scarf and a cane topped with a tiny giftbox. Other photos reveal a plum velvet coat, striped trousers and a printed waistcoat, akin to the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory illustrations by Quentin Blake.
Paul King is directing the film, and whilst few details have been released, we have some semblance of the plot. The third Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptation from Warner Bros., Wonka will act as a prequel, following the protagonist in the early days of his career as a chocolatier, and his discovery of the Oompa-Loompas. This plotline has already been met with backlash: Dahl’s original text was widely criticised for it’s pushing of the racist white-saviour narrative, wherein Wonka ‘saves’ the Oompa-Loompas from their homeland. Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation also fell into this, and was further accused of exoticizing indigenous tribes in its Loompa-Land scenes. It is uncertain whether Wonka too will present a problematic storyline of a white man ‘saving’ an indigenous people from their homeland, or whether it will attempt to rewrite Wonka and the Oompa-Loompas away from their racist origin story.
Regardless, after nearly five years in development, production for Wonka is well underway. Filming locations so far include London, Bath and Dorset, where Chalamet was photographed in his Wonka garb carrying a large suitcase. Wonka will mark Chalamet’s seventh leading role, including Dune, which is due to be released on the 21st of October. He was optioned for the part against the likes of Donald Glover, Ryan Gosling, and Ezra Miller before being officially cast in January 2021. No other roles have been confirmed yet for the star-studded cast, which includes British media royalty such as Olivia Coleman, Rowan Atkinson and Jim Carter.
Wonka is currently set to be released on the 17th of March 2023.
Words by Alice Fortt
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