If you have been anticipating Timothée Chalamet's Wonka movie since his casting was announced in 2021, today is your lucky day because new details about the upcoming prequel film keep coming our way — and each one will blow your mind more than the next.
In case you've been living under a rock — or missed the memes in 2021 — Chalamet is set to take on the titular role of Willy Wonka in Wonka, a fresh take on the beloved character created by Roald Dahl, coming from Warner Bros. and directed by Paddington's Paul King. The Dune star is set to become the third actor in Hollywood history to step into the shoes of the famed chocolatier, only after Gene Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in 2005.
Wonka, which is slated to premiere theatrically on December 15, 2023, will go in-depth into the origin stories of the chocolate maestro, then still just a humble chocolate aficionado, for the first time. The movie, which will also have a musical aspect, is said to chronicle Willy Wonka's fantastical journey across the world before he established his legendary chocolate factory. Per Warner Bros., the film will tell the “vivid, mythical beginnings of the imaginative young inventor before he becomes the renowned scrumdiddlyumptious Mozart of chocolate.” What a description.
Previously, we had gotten a peek at Chalamet's new “uniform” as Willy Wonka — which is envisioned by costume designer Lindy Hemming and includes a velvet burgundy jacket, a silk necktie, and the character's iconic brown top hat — and now we have also gotten our first official full-length trailer.
The first trailer for the film was unveiled earlier this summer, while the second trailer was released on October 12. Both trailers give us a taste of Chalamet's zany take on the chocolatier. “You see, I'm something of a magician, inventor, and chocolate maker," Chalamet's young Willy Wonka prefaces. While we still don't get to hear any of the actual musical aspects of the film play out in the trailers, we can see a lot of dancing. We also see Chalamet's Wonka's rapport with co-star Calah Lane, who plays a young orphan named Noodle. She appears to be Wonka's main support system and confidante, as we see the pair go from seemingly strangers to partners in chocolate crime literally soaring through the sky. There's also the hilarious addition of Hugh Grant as the first Oompa Loompa Chalamet's Wonka works with.
From the get-go, we knew Wonka would probably be a wild ride — but it might be even wilder than we had imagined. You can watch the trailers for Timothée Chalamet's Wonka movie above and find seven whimsically unhinged and strange details we know about the film below.
1. Timmy swam in actual melted chocolate and got stomach aches from eating so much candy on set
Per Variety, who was present at this year's CinemaCon, back in April Chalamet introduced the new footage of the movie by revealing that the film required him to swim in real melted chocolate. “Too much chocolate," he joked, adding that he got stomach aches from eating so much of it and other treats that surrounded him on set. Was that Chalamet giving in to temptation or leaning into his dedication to the role? Let's go with the latter.
2. Hugh Grant is an Oompa-Loompa
Without a doubt, one of the most iconic characters in the Willy Wonka universe are the Oompa-Loompas, the most noted workers in Willy Wonka's factory. If you've watched the two films based on Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you probably associate them with orange skin and short stature and their native land of Loompaland. Well, in Chalamet's movie, you'll associate them with Hugh Grant.
Yes, folks, renowned British actor Hugh Grant is one one the leading Oompa-Loompas in Paul King's Wonka — as you might already guessed if you watched the trailer above. According to the director and as noted by Entertainment Weekly, Grant is "no taller than knee high" as the character, orange-skinned indeed, and will be singing and dancing galore. The trailer confirms Oompa-Loompas — or at least Grant's Oompa-Loompa in particular — have a British accent and are actually more sardonic in nature than ever before. (After all, they were creatures of very few words in the previous two movie iterations. Unless they were singing, of course.)
3. Wonka is hunted by a chocolate cartel, and there will be chocolate that makes people float
Wondering what type of chocolate Wonka will sell to build his cocoa empire? Well, the trailer gives us a taste. We know that Chalamet's Wonka is in possession of "magical chocolates" (make of that what you will) that he uses to make people float. Whether it's magic or science behind these miracle bonbons remains to be seen, but color us intrigued.
We also don't know for sure what early business young Willy Wonka will be embroiled in, but it sure seems like he's up to no good. As confirmed by Deadline, Chalamet's Wonka will be hunted down by a chocolate cartel in his pursuit of opening his dream chocolate shop. "Many people have come here to sell chocolate and been crushed by the chocolate cartel," his character gets told in the extended trailer. By the looks of it, though, it seems like the cartel is actually just competitors in the biz — the famous Fickelgruber, Prodnose, and Slugworth, whom you might already be familiar with if you are a longtime Wonka fan.
4. There will be seven musical numbers in the film
Lest we forget: Wonka is a musical, and as such, it will have musical numbers aplenty. The official description for the trailer describes the film as an “intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor.” Back in 2022, Chalamet confirmed to British Vogue that the amount of musical numbers Wonka will have is exactly seven, which he teased will be "so sincere" and “so joyous.”
Per THR, Keegan-Michael Key, who will star alongside Chalamet in Wonka, agrees completely with the adjectives the star used to describe the movie's music. "I would also like to add the words 'wondrous' and 'a little bit epic,'" he added. According to Key, the film is "a nice, big, full, beautiful piece of art, and Paul King, who directed it, is a delightful human being who has this wonderful, childlike heart. He was the perfect person to direct the project."
In an interview with TIME, Chalamet shared that he had done some work for the film at Abbey Road, one of London's most prominent recording studios. "I felt out of my league," he said. "Like I was desecrating history!"
5. The first few looks at Timmy as Wonka have drawn a thousand different reactions
When Chalamet was first spotted on British soil filming for the movie, a meme star was born — but there's still not a clear consensus on how we all feel about this iteration of Willy Wonka. While some have compared his sartorial choices to E.T. and even Gonzo from The Muppet Christmas Carol, others consider this Wonka a bit of a sex symbol and maybe even a f*ckboy. On the latter, Chalamet told British Vogue that it couldn't be further from the truth, but the jury is still out.
6. The cast is stacked with comedic British actors
Since the film was shot in the U.K., it's expected that some top-class British talent would make their way into the cast. Some British comedy legends like Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson (yes, that's thee Mr. Bean), Sally Hawkins, Matt Lucas, Simon Farnaby, and Tom Davis. Actor Jim Carter, whom you might recognize from Downton Abbey, also has a role in Wonka. Familiar faces from the other side of the pond, like Keegan-Michael Key and Natasha Rothwell, are also part of the ensemble.
7. Donald Glover, Ryan Gosling, Ezra Miller, and Tom Holland almost played the chocolatier
Before the role went to Chalamet, other actors were considered to bring Willy Wonka to life. Per Collider, the production team for Wonka was rumored to have their eye on Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover, and Ezra Miller at some point for the role. (Now, I know for some it is still hard to even picture Chalamet as the "Mozart of chocolate," but can you imagine any of these other actors?) According to IMDb, the final choice was between Tom Holland and Timothée Chalamet, and the rest, as they say, is history.
