At just 27, Timothée Chalamet has played a wide range of characters already in his career. There’s plenty of precocious and/or troubled youths in his filmography, like the upstart Henry V in “The King,” Frank Herbert‘s hero Paul Atreides, or the cannibal drifter Lee in “Bones And All.” But this winter, Chalamet plays an altogether different type of young man in the first musical of his career: Willy Wonka in Paul King‘s “Wonka.”
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King’s prequel to Roald Dahl‘s 1964 novel “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory,” “Wonka” sees Chalamet don the eccentric candymaker’s top hot and cane after Peter Sellers and Johnny Depp. So what’s the premise of the musical? Chalamet’s young Wonka embarks on the adventures that inspire him to open his fantastic, one-of-a-kind factory.
Here’s an official synopsis for “Wonka,” courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures:
Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big-screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time
But Chalamet isn’t the only star power in “Wonka.” Joining him in the musical are Keegan Michael-Key, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, and Jim Carter. Other cast members include Matt Lucas, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Michael Baynton, Simon Farnaby, and Rich Fulcher. Hugh Grant also stars as an Oompa-Loompa.
Paul King directs “Wonka” from a script he co-pens with Simon Farnaby. It’s King’s first film since the universally beloved “Paddington 2” in 2017. British composer Joby Talbot composes the music for “Wonka.” Moviegoers will recognize Talbot’s work from the animated musical film “Sing” and its sequel “Sing 2.”
So where will Chalamet’s Wonka stand against the likes of the actor’s other “portrait of a young man” roles? And how will he take to singing on-screen? With James Mangold‘s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” up next for Chalamet, “Wonka” may prove one of his most important career roles. Paul King’s “Wonka” hits theaters everywhere on December 15 from Warner Bros. Pictures. Watch the first trailer for the film below.
