Timothée Chalamet shares first look of himself as Willy Wonka
“The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last..."
Timothée Chalamet has shared the first look of himself as Willy Wonka in the new ‘Wonka’ film.
In a photo posted across his social media, the actor is seen wearing the iconic brown tophat, a maroon velvet jacket and patterned scarf.
He captioned the picture: “The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last… WONKA,” one of Gene Wilder’s lines from the 1971 adaptation, directed by Mel Stuart.
Plot details are yet to be revealed, but the new musical will act as an origins story for the classic 1964 Roald Dahl novel ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, telling the story of the famed chocolate factory owner’s early life.
The classic children’s story tells the story of impoverished character Charlie Bucket who wins a golden ticket to visit the mysterious and wacky chocolate factory run by Wonka.
Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins and Jim Carter are among other cast members joining the line up, helmed by ‘Paddington’ director Paul King.
According to Deadline, there will be several musical numbers where Chalamet “gets to show off his singing and dancing skills”.
Chalamet will be the third actor to play the eccentric chocolate maker, following Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s 2005 release of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.
The actor’s new film preview comes following anticipation for his roles in Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ and Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’.
The latter had its UK premiere last night at the BFI London Film Festival, where Bill Murray was among stars who hit the red carpet.
In ‘Dune’, the remake of David Lynch’s 1984 sci-fi, Chalamet plays Paul, alongside cast members Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and Jason Momoa.
Chalamet plays French revolutionary student Zeffirelli alongside Frances McDormand in ‘The French Dispatch’, which recalls the stories of journalists working at an American newspaper in a fictional 20th century French city.
Anderson reflected on Chalamet’s acting abilities in GQ magazine: “I had seen Timmy in ‘Lady Bird’ and ‘Call Me by Your Name’ and I never had the inconvenience of ever thinking of anybody else for this role even for a second.
“I knew he was exactly right, and plus: He speaks French and looks like he might actually have walked right out of an Éric Rohmer movie.”
Wonka is slated for release on 17 March 2023.