Timothée Chalamet has just treated his fans to the very first look at himself as Willy Wonka – and we are honestly blown away by his epic transformation! Major props to the hair, makeup, and wardrobe departments!
The 25-year-old actor will be playing the title role in the Warner Bros film, Wonka; the prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 classic book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The film – which will come out in 2023, so we sadly have a while to wait to see Chalamet in action – will be about Wonka’s life before the chocolate factory, and we’re beyond fascinated to find out more about the character’s undoubtedly very intriguing past. The script will be written by Simon Rich, directed by Paddington‘s Paul King (who is also said to be writing some of the script, alongside Rich) and produced by David Heyman.
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This has clearly been in the works for a very long time, as some of the talented brains behind the movie spoke openly about their plans for the story three years ago. “What makes Willy — when we find him at the chocolate factory doing the golden ticket, where is he before that?” Heyman told Collider back in 2018. “What leads him to that place where he’s locked himself away? It’s, ‘How does he get there?’ So we’re playing around with that,” the producer continued.
Chalamet will be the third actor to bring the iconic chocolatier to life, following in the footsteps of Gene Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in 2005. Oh, and in case that wasn’t enough pressure for the young star, he’s also going to be singing and dancing too! The Call Me by Your Name actor shared the first look picture on his Instagram profile on Sunday, October 10th, and at the time of writing, it has already garnered over four million likes. He can be seen posing in Willy Wonka’s unmistakable outfit, which consists of a brown top hat, a deep red velvet coat, and a multicolored scarf. He captioned the photo: “The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last,” followed by the word “WONKA” in-between what looks like a factory emoji and a chocolate bar. The Oscar-nominated-actor also posted a second picture, this time of the famous candy maker’s walking cane, which opens to reveal a red and purple wrapped present inside. Did we mention that we were beside ourselves with excitement?
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We're not the only ones who are mesmerized by Chalamet's transformation – which you can see in even more detail in the behind-the-scenes-picture we managed to get our hands on – as several A-listers have already mentioned how excited they are to see him take on the iconic role. Including cast members from the original 1971 film…
"You can't kill the Willy Wonka story," Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, told People back in July. "So all of it is good. It's a great story. And people enjoy whatever different version they're watching; it's fun to watch."
Wonka is currently slated to premiere on March 17, 2023. Mark your calendars!
