Hollywood is yet again beating a dead horse by remaking hit movies from the seventies and eighties. This time Hollywood is trying to reboot a beloved character for a third time through a prequel. The Willy Wonka prequel was announced several years ago and at the time Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover and Ezra Miller’s names were being floated as potential stars. But that was 2018 and in 2021 the Willy Wonka prequel is still happening. Warner Brothers plans to release Wonka in March 2023 and now Timothee Chalamet and Tom Holland are being considered to star. The prequel will explore the early life of a young Willy Wonka. Nothing has yet been confirmed and both actors are thought to have a clear calendar for filming this summer. Below are a few more details from Collider:
Holland is currently 24 years old, while Chalamet just turned 25, and not only will they be competing for roles for years to come, but they are two of Hollywood’s most recognizable and talented leading men under 30. While it’s unclear whether Holland or Chalamet are actively pursuing this part, it’s easy to see Chalamet as a younger version of Johnny Depp’s take on Wonka, whereas Holland is more of a song-and-dance man in the vein of a young Gene Wilder. To be clear, neither has been offered the role of Wonka — but let’s be honest, there are only so many young actors Warner Bros. would agree to finance this film with, as I’d imagine they want it to spark a franchise.
Paul King (Paddington) will direct from a script by Simon Rich (An American Pickle), who will draw inspiration from Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wonka will be produced by David Heyman, who also produced the Harry Potter movies for Warners in addition to Paddington and its equally beloved sequel. Variety reports that the studio plans to start production within the next four months.
While I’m not privy to the inner-workings of Holland or Chalamet’s schedules, neither appear to have any projects that are due to begin shooting this summer. Chalamet is attached to play Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s Going Electric, but Mangold is currently focused on the fifth Indiana Jones movie slated for July 2022. Holland is currently filming a third Spider-Man movie, but he has no other imminent projects on his IMDb page.
I’m gonna say it and you can fight me, but I am tired of seeing these two in everything. And that’s saying something because I actually like Tom. I do think Tom would be a better choice because he’d probably approach the character the way Gene Wilder did with singing and dancing. Whereas Chalamet would go the awkward vein of the 2005 Johnny Depp/Tim Burton production. Tim Burton destroyed Charlie and Chocolate Factory. I was so mad at that movie that I never made it through half of it.
I am also tired of the remakes, the prequels and the reboots. I need new stories, fresher ideas, and different faces. There need to be new diverse faces in Hollywood and not folks that all begin to look alike over time. Sadly, I don’t see this happening any time soon because Hollywood is stuck in a loop of fear. They are not willing to bring in new ideas out of fear of losing money in foreign markets. Hollywood is also afraid of putting money into diverse stories. What’s hilarious about this stubbornness of sticking to old material is that Hollywood inevitably loses money. As the last few years have proven to us with Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, Parasite and others is that the world enjoys storytelling with diverse voices. And let’s be real, no one really wants to see more reboots. They are almost always over produced, badly written and never as fun as the original. I can count on one hand how many reboots that I have actually liked.
No one can follow Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. He will always be the king of that story. Whomever takes on the role of Willy Wonka will inevitably be compared to Wilder so they will need to make the role their own. My money is on Tom Holland, and I hope that whomever stars will do one of my favorite childhood movies justice.
Photos credit: Avalon.red and via Instagram
I was into the rumored Buffy reboot. I don’t know if it would be considered a reboot, it would have all new characters and a diverse cast. I was very interested. But with the whole Joss Whedon thing I don’t think it will ever happen now.
Other than that, I am so sick and tired of reboots. We live in the most interesting times maybe ever, and they can’t come up with new, relevant stories? Come on.
Count me as another one sick of reboots. I love the original Willy Wonka, but the Johnny Depp one was so strange. We watched it once and havent seen it since.
Diverse movies SELL and I dont understand why Hollywood seems so slow to catch on to that. Black Panther was huge (and is one of the few Marvel movies I’ll watch over again, since I really liked it, which isnt true for all Marvel movies for me.) Crazy Rich Asians is one of my favorite movies -its just such a fun romp with some family drama tossed in (the book is a lot more serious and not as fun, even though I liked it, and the rest of the trilogy even more so, so I am not sure how I feel about China Rich Girlfriend if they make that into a movie). I’m a white woman and I’m sick of seeing all white people in movies – especially because it seems to be the SAME white people. I’m so sick of Jessica Chastain lol. Why is she in everything?? same with tom holland and Timothee chalamet. If we’re still doing the all-white thing in 2021, lets at least find different white people.
/end rant
Totally agree Oya. Tired of the repeats, retreads and lack of originality and diversity. If it’s one thing Netflix has shown is that people are open to and welcome diversity in what they’re watching. The movie industry is its own worst enemy.
Yes! Obviously Netflix has some reboots/remakes but so much of the original programming is just that – original (not including whether it comes from a book or something.) They take chances and it pays off. Just imagine the pitches for some of the shows – “Bridgerton – regency romance but with a sexy diverse cast and there’s going to be lots of sex, think it will work?” “Umbrella Academy – kids with super powers who have serious ‘daddy’ issues and there is some time travel involved and lots of cello playing, sound good?” “Queen’s Gambit – chess! I think it has potential!”
etc etc. Not to say that everything Netflix does is super diverse or that everything is the Next Best Thing in terms of tv or movie, but overall the company does better than most major studios or networks.
Does Hollywood know there’s more young actors than these two? Sorry but I’m sick of Tom. He’s so over exposed and that would make it even worse and I personally don’t think he’s that good of an actor. I think timmy is a better actor but neither is right for the role. The whole film is a bad idea.
What has Tom been in besides Spiderman though? I don’t think he shows up in high profile movies outside of that.
He’s got a new movie out on Apple+ that looks pretty bad that he’s campaigning for, he was in devil all the time on Netflix a few months ago, was in two Disney and Pixar films, he’s in a movie that was meant to come out years ago but is scheduled for this year chaos walking and he’s playing Nathan Drake in uncharted (which he is also not right for). It’s not just the movies it’s the promo. And the pretending to spill spoilers when it’s all just to promote the movie and himself. I also think he tries to act dumb.
Have writers gotten to the very bottom of the barrel of creativity? I’m tired of all these reboots. This is why diversity matters, I’m sure that a lot of minority writers have new stories to tell and no one willing to get behind those ideas.
I zone out as soon as I hear reboot and remake.
No more, please, no more!
Wow, literally no one asked for this movie. What the heck?
That said, I feel like many people act like retreads, remakes, reboots etc. are a new phenomenon. There were at least 40 Dracula movies made between the 30s and 70s, lol. This is just how Hollywood is, unfortunately, and how they’ve always been. I crave creativity in the films I consume and completely agree with those saying we need to look to diverse voices for fresh stories, because there is SO MUCH untapped potential there. But Hollywood is gonna Hollywood.
Hello! First time commenter, longtime reader. I say drop these bozos and bring on Janelle Monae!!!
I don’t particularly care for Willy Wonka, but even I’d watch it if it had Janelle Monae.
Oh man excellent idea
I can not think of two less compelling or less interesting actors for the role.
Agreed! Don’t do it, Tom, don’t do it, I beg of you.
Lol give it to Awkwafina or Donald Glover. Neither of those two guys have the appropriate wonky energy, too bland and pretty. Willy wonka needs to be a weirdo!!
God Awkwafina in The Farewell was incredible. What a beautiful film. These days I find myself more and more drawn to TV and streaming. I havent seen a decent blockbuster in years and I dont think I will.
I think we’re stuck in a nostalgia loop.
I am so sick of these unoriginal reboot movies, but how amazing would Donald Glover have been as Wonka?!