What we can expect from 'Wonka,' the new Willy Wonka film starring Timothée Chalamet
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Timothée Chalamet will star in an upcoming musical film centered on Willy Wonka's origin story.
- The cast of "Wonka" also includes Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, and Sally Hawkins.
- "Wonka," directed by Paul King, hits theaters on Friday, December 15.
Timothée Chalamet is set to show off his musicality as Willy Wonka, the titular chocolate maker in the upcoming musical film "Wonka."
The movie, directed by Paul King, tells the origin story of the iconic character from Roald Dahl's beloved children's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Here's what fans can expect from "Wonka."
'Wonka' will be upbeat and cheerful, rather than a dark origin story
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
The film is described as prequel to the 1971 movie "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," which starred Gene Wilder as the chocolatier.
"What I wanted this movie to be was like a companion piece to that movie," King told Entertainment Weekly in July. "If you imagine those people in that world 25 years earlier, that was my starting process. Eventually, he would grow into that person and that factory."
"It's not mining the darker emotions in life," Chalamet said of the premise of "Wonka" during a 2021 interview with Time. "It's a celebration of being off-center and of being OK with the weirder parts of you that don't quite fit in."
The Oscar-nominated actor shared a similar comment in a 2022 cover story for British Vogue, calling the movie "so sincere" and "so joyous."
Keegan-Michael Key, who also stars in the movie, called the film "a nice, big, full, beautiful piece of art" during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
In May, Chalamet told Vogue that he was interested in being part of this project because of its positive nature and message.
"To work on something that will have an uncynical young audience, that was just a big joy," he said. "That's why I was drawn to it. In a time and climate of intense political rhetoric, when there's so much bad news all the time, this is hopefully going to be a piece of chocolate."
Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, and Sally Hawkins star alongside Chalamet and Key
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Grant's casting as an Oompa Loompa was revealed at CinemaCon in April. After unveiling the film's first trailer to the audience, Chalamet said that "it was a trip" having Grant play the orange-colored, green-haired character.
"Grant's one of our greats, so it was a dream," he said, per EW.
When the trailer was officially released three months later, fans could see that Grant's character is so tiny — about 20 inches, according to People — that he can fit inside a jar.
Chalamet and Grant will be joined in the movie by Calah Lane ("The Day Shall Come"), Olivia Colman ("The Favourite," "Secret Invasion"), Sally Hawkins ("The Shape of Water," the "Paddington" movies), Keegan-Michael Key ("The Super Mario Bros. Movie"), Paterson Joseph ("Vigil"), Matt Lucas ("Paddington"), Mathew Baynton ("Ghosts"), Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean"), and Jim Carter.
Additional cast members include Natasha Rothwell ("The White Lotus," "Insecure"), Rich Fulcher ("Marriage Story," "Disenchantment"), Rakhee Thakrar ("Sex Education," "Four Weddings and a Funeral"), Tom Davis ("Paddington 2), and and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith ("Paddington 2").
That's actually Chalamet singing and dancing in the film
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Fans of the actor are probably familiar with his viral statistics-themed rap video that he created while attending LaGuardia High School in the Upper West Side. But his musicality hasn't been given the spotlight in his filmography until now.
King raved about Chalamet's skills during an interview with EW, calling the actor "extraordinary" at singing and dancing.
"He's got the voice of an angel and the toes of... I don't know what toes," he said. "I can't wait for people to see it. I think it's gonna blow people away."
The filmmaker also told People that the actor spent months rehearsing.
Additionally, Chalamet recorded music for "Wonka" at the famed Abbey Road.
"I felt out of my league," he told Time of being there. "Like I was desecrating history!"
As part of his role, Chalamet has seven musical numbers in "Wonka."
"That was something I was very excited to jump into right away," he told Variety in 2022, explaining that he had ample space to practice because King "built a literal dance studio in one of the lots at Leavesden in London at Warner Bros."
'Wonka' hits theaters on Friday, December 15
The first "Wonka" trailer was officially released in July, a few months after audience members were treated to never-before-seen footage at CinemaCon. You can watch the whimsical trailer below.