Warner Bros. have announced this week the full cast joining Timothée Chalamet in Wonka. The new movie musical functions as a prequel to Roald Dahl’s classic novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, following the factory owner as a young man. Paul King is set to direct, with a script penned alongside Paddington 2 co-writer Simon Farnaby. At this point, not much else is known about the plot.
The line-up includes some of Britain’s most acclaimed actors, including Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Matt Lucas and Jim Carter. Emmy Award-winning actor Keegan Michael-Key was announced as joining the film a few weeks prior, fresh from his dive into the musical genre with Apple TV+’s Schmigadoon.
Also in the cast are Mathew Baynton (Horrible Histories), Rich Fulcher (The Mighty Boosh), Paterson Joseph (Noughts + Crosses), Calah Lane (The Day Shall Come), Colin O’Brien (The Mothership), Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus), Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education) and Ellie White (The Windsors).
The film also reunites King and Farnaby with many of the team behind the Paddington movies. In front of the camera, this includes Tom Davis, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Farnaby himself. Behind the scenes, this includes producer David Heyman (Harry Potter), editor Mark Everson, and Academy Award-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming.
Wonka will mark the third work from Warner Bros. based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with the studio having produced both the 1971 and 2005 adaptations. While Netflix have recently signed a deal securing them the rights to all of Dahl’s works, it is unknown whether this will affect the distribution of this film.
The film will mark Chalamet’s first foray into musicals. It is also one of his first major blockbuster productions, following Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, releasing in the UK on 22 October.
Filming in London has started for the film this month, with a cinema release currently set for 17 March 2023.
Words by Rehana Nurmahi