Paddington director Paul King in talks to take on Willy Wonka
Paddington 2 director Paul King is in talks to take on Willy Wonka, according to THR. Paddington producer David Heyman is on board as well. Back in 2016, it was reported that Warner Bros. was in development on a Willy Wonka prequel, and it appears likely that this is the same project. The script, which is under wraps, was written by Simon Rich.
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At the time, the report stated that Willy Wonka would tell the story of the early adventures of the king of sweets, Willy Wonka, and won’t be based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or its 1972 sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
Producer David Heyman of the Harry Potter franchise is set to produce the new film from a screenplay to be penned by Man Seeking Woman series creator Simon Rich, who also contributed material to Inside Out and The Secret Life of Pets. Courtenay Valenti (Mad Max: Fury Road) is overseeing the project for the studio.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been twice adapted for the big screen, including a hit 2005 version — also released by Warners — starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton, and most famously as 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder in his most iconic role. No direct feature adaptation has been made of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (though elements of it were used in both films), and Dahl was developing a third Wonka book titled Charlie in the White House before he passed away in 1990.
Are you guys interested in Willy Wonka? Are you looking forward to seeing the beginnings of the eccentric chocolatier? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
