Timothée Chalamet to star in WONKA movie musical

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 11:35am

"Timothée Chalamet is ready to head to a world of pure imagination as the Oscar-nominated actor is set to star as the iconic inventor and chocolate maker in Warner Bros and the Roald Dahl Story Co.’s Wonka. Based on characters created by Roald Dahl, the story will focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory.

Sources also tell Deadline that Wonka will mark the first time Chalamet gets to show off his singing and dancing skills with several musical numbers set to appear in the film. He’s been the top choice for some time but scheduling was a hurdle that had to be overcome as training for those numbers is included in the prep for this film."

https://deadline.com/2021/05/timothee-chalamet-willy-wonka-warner-bros-1234762658/

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 11:44am

He's such a cutie. I wonder if he'll lean more towards a Wilder "Willy" or a Depp. I could honestly see him as either, a mix of both, or his own thing entirely. Excited to see what his musical abilities are.

Much like the new Cruella film starring Emma Stone.. I don't think origin story movies to iconic characters are all that needed. However, they're fun for fans of the source material. I will definitely see it!

[Tag]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 11:47am

Kind of a genius idea and casting.  I'm surprised there hasn't been an origin story film so far.  Lots to explore with him finding the Oompa Loompas.  I hope they pay homage to the iconic styling from the 70s film.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 11:51am

Does anyone know if Chalamet really is a good singer/dancer? If so, this could be an interesting project for him.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 11:53am

Wow, what a bizarre project. I'm not saying they can't pull it off, but a few concerns immediately come to mind: 

(1) The Burton movie is not well-liked, and one of the major changes they made was to give Wonka a backstory. I personally don't mind it, but I can see an argument that giving him a backstory ruins some of the mystery and charm surrounding his character. Burton aside, prequels in Hollywood are dangerous territory where quality is concerned: they invite all kinds of lazy attempts at fan service, trying to answer questions that nobody asked or cares about, making for incredibly grating experiences.

(2) I have become less and less enamored with Chalamet the more things I see him in. I don't think he has much range, and this will be the biggest stretch for him yet. 

(3) Curious to see how they handle the Oompa Loompas, considering they have not aged well as a story device. It's easier to write it off when it's just a part of the whimsical nonsense world of Wonka's factory - but trying to actually incorporate it into a hard backstory? It may come off very badly. We'll see if they try to re-frame it through a modern lens to make it less problematic. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 12:03pm

The Burton/Deep version was awful. Curious to see the spin that's put on this musical version.

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 12:09pm

I really wish Hollywood and Broadway would just leave this property alone. The Gene Wilder film is wonderful, but every other attempt to capitalize off of the book’s popularity has been god awful.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 12:16pm

The Burton film was pretty bad, but since that Paul King is directing this, it may have a chance of actually being good. He directed the two Paddington Bear films that were actually pretty great kids films, so he might pull this off; not to mention that Chalamet is a pretty good choice to play this iconic character.

I guess we'll wait and see what happens.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 12:29pm

I'm genuinely curious which of Timothee Chalamet's past roles are making people feel like this is a good role for him? Again, I'll withhold judgement until we see him, but I'm not sure where this confidence is coming from, other than a broad, overall affection for him. 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 12:36pm

Not sure how I feel about this. I would actually like to hear what he can do vocally in a musical, but I don't know that this is a story I need to keep exploring. There are clips of him on YouTube from performances he did when he was at LaGuardia. Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALwHJdDkYUU

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 1:03pm

Jordan Levinson said: "Does anyone know if Chalamet really is a good singer/dancer? If so, this could be an interesting project for him."

He can sing and dance quite well.  He did a few musicals when he attended LaGuardia High School (the “FAME” school), most notably playing Oscar in a production of SWEET CHARITY.  Someone posted a link to this above.  

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 1:03pm

JBroadway said: "I'm genuinely curious which of Timothee Chalamet's past roles are making people feel like this is a good role for him? Again, I'll withhold judgement until we see him, but I'm not sure where thisconfidence is coming from, other than a broad, overall affection for him."

There is a group of people out there who think he can do anything and that he's the next DiCaprio or Redford. (I'm not among them, though I think he was flat out brilliant in Call Me By...). He feels like an odd choice, but we also know basically nothing about what this film is about.

[jlindsey865]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 2:31pm

I’m a sucker for a prequel story, so I’m interested to hear more about this film. Physically, Chalamet seems like a pretty solid choice. I do think he is very talented, so I’m looking forward to following news about the him in this project.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 4:01pm

I’m curious to hear his singing voice

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 6:40pm

I only seen him in Little Woman. But I hope they got good songwriters

[Tim Barstow]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 8:18pm

BwayLB said: "I only seen him in Little Woman. But I hope they got good songwriters"

I'd like to see someone who's not in the movie musical sphere (ie. Pasek and Paul, Shaiman and Wittman, Alan Menken, LMM) take a shot at writing the songs. Dave Malloy? Sara Barielles? Andrew Lippa?

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 8:27pm

^ Sara’s music in Waitress was beautiful.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 12:05am

I think Sara could do some lovely, imaginative, and fun music for this if she was asked.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 11:12am

Theatrefanboy1 said: "I’m curious to hear his singing voice"

Saturday Night Live had him sing in the sketch "Tiny Horse" in December:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z53ZoWGZtyw

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 6:00pm

JBroadway said: "Wow, what a bizarre project. I'm not saying they can't pull it off, but a few concerns immediately come to mind:

(3) Curious to see how they handle the Oompa Loompas, considering they have not aged well as a story device. It's easier to write it off when it's just a part of the whimsical nonsense world of Wonka's factory - but trying to actually incorporate it into a hard backstory? It may come off very badly. We'll see if they try to re-frame it through a modern lens to make it less problematic."

I don't remember the specifics but isn't it something like Wonka benevolently "rescuing" them and then them working for him as free labor? I vaguely remember colonialist vibes.