Around five years ago, word first pinged our news radar that Warner Bros. was developing a prequel film that would fill in more about the early days of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory's quirky chocolatier, Willy Wonka. The news has been quiet since then beyond the fact that Paddington director Paul King jumped aboard to make it. Now? It has a 2023 release date.
Though Paramount was behind 1971's Gene Wilder-starring Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, Warners brought Charlie to screens in 2005 with Johnny Depp as Wonka. And though Tim Burton's film touched on Wonka's childhood, this may look more at his attempts to get his factory going.
While Warners offers no casting update – since no deals have been made, Collider has heard that Tom Holland and Timothée Chalamet are among the studio's top choice to play the younger version of the confectioner.
Harry Potter (and Paddington) veteran David Heyman is producing the film, and the studio has penciled in 17 March 2023 for its release. Looks like we'll be hearing more about it soon...