With its domestic premiere set for Friday, December 15, Timothée Chalamet’s Wonka is poised to be one of the final blockbusters of the year – and hopefully will fare better than the others. Chalamet, who stars as the titular character, is already looking to the future, and has expressed his willingness to return for a sequel, but he has a condition.
Chalamet revealed his interest during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Sunday, while attending the Los Angeles premiere of the film. When asked if he was open to continue playing Wonka, he responded, “Yeah, if there is a story to be told.”
Wonka is based on the popular character of the same name from Roald Dahl’s children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It tells the origin story of the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka when he was a wide-eyed kid with nothing but his dream of opening the “greatest chocolate shop the world has ever seen.”
Although Wonka marks the third film adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it is the first prequel. Unlike the other films, released in 1971 and 2005, it explores Willy Wonka’s life several years before the events of the book. In terms of continuity, it is connected to the first adaptation, which starred Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.
Chalamet’s belief that there are more stories to be told is based on this knowledge – that there is a 25-year gap between his Wonka and the original feature film within which lies infinite storytelling possibilities.
If the production team chooses, they could further explore the character’s life, including how he came to become the eccentric personality he is depicted as in the original film. Where Chalamet’s take on the character is upbeat and optimistic, Wilder’s version couldn’t be more different with his eccentricity.
Speaking on the disparity between his version of Wonka and that of Wilder’s, Chalamet told ET, “Something twisted happens. I don’t know how we started like this and end there — I don’t know what the story is.”
Besides Chalamet, Wonka boasts an ensemble cast of some of Hollywood’s finest actors, including Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Matthew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, and Matt Lucas, among others. The film is directed by Paddington’s Paul King based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby.
While Wonka doesn’t premiere in domestic theaters until December 15, it is already making waves in international markets. Following its December 8 debut in select countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and China, it earned a strong $43.2 million that saw it soar to the top of the international box office.
Chalamet, his co-stars, and King will be hoping the film pulls similar numbers when it debuts in the US and the rest of the world on December 15. They will also be hoping Chalamet wins his first-ever Golden Globe Award – for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, which he received for his performance in Wonka, at the ceremony on January 7, 2024.
As the release date approaches, anticipation for the film continues to rise. If all goes well, we will likely see Warner Bros. sign off on a sequel, especially since Chalamet has indicated his willingness to return. Up next, Chalamet will reprise his role as Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, slated for release on March 1, 2024.
