Could Wonka Lead To A New Adaptation Of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory?
Spoilers for "Wonka" follow.
Director Paul King, best known for the "Paddington" movies, chose to venture away from the terribly kind Peruvian bear for a journey into the world of author Roald Dahl. "Wonka" focuses on an origin story inspired by "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the book that was previously turned into the 1971 classic film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with Gene Wilder as the eccentric chocolatier, as well as Tim Burton's take on the material in 2005 with Johnny Depp donning the top hat. This time, it's Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka, who is looking to open up his own chocolate shop in honor of his late mother (Sally Hawkins), the woman responsible for his love of chocolate.
In "Wonka," the candyman faces a variety of challenges, including his own naivete. But the biggest hurdle is the chocolate cartel, a trio of professional candy makers hellbent on keeping any potential competitors from opening a new sweet shop in their territory. Of course, with the help of some new friends, Wonka is able to fulfill his dream. Though his chocolate shop ends up being shut down after some sneaky sabotage, courtesy of the chocolate cartel and a corrupt chief of police, Wonka ends up triumphing by exposing the chocolate cartel's unethical practices.
The film ends with the young Wonka purchasing an abandoned castle and turning it into his trademark chocolate factory. Through time-lapsed visual effects, the factory takes form with a mix of antique industrial hardware and vibrant colors, paving the way for Chalamet to become the Willy Wonka we all know and love. However, considering where we find Wonka in his later years, there's a lot of time between the end of "Wonka" and the story that unfolds in Roald Dahl's book that introduced us to the character. So will "Wonka" lead to a new adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at some point?
Paul King wants to make a sequel
Even though "Wonka" is only just now hitting theaters, it seems destined to become a box office hit this holiday season. If all goes well, director Paul King would like to make a sequel. Speaking to Total Film, the filmmaker cited Dahl's apparent interest in telling more stories with Willy Wonka, and King feels the same way:
"Dahl was definitely interested in taking Willy Wonka on. There's drafts that didn't really go anywhere, and there's a short story. He didn't really write sequels, but this was the one book where he clearly felt there was more in the tank there. There's an awful lot more Wonka story that we have that we would like to tell. It's not like 'Dune: Part One,' where you go, 'This is what's happening in Part Two.' Hopefully it works exquisitely as a stand-alone movie. But I would definitely like to do more. And I'd like to spend more time in this world, and meet some more Oompa Loompas."
There's a sequel book called "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator," but that story picks up after the events of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," with Charlie Bucket and his family still adventuring with Wonka. Believe it or not, that book takes Charlie and Wonka to space, includes Vernicious Knids as dangerous aliens, and it's quite the departure from the original book. So it's not likely that the sequel would take a cue from Dahl's follow-up book, but it seems both King and Chalamet have an idea of what kind of stories they can tell.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, King confirmed that "Wonka" takes place 25 years before the story that we've seen unfold in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Responding to a red carpet question, King remarked, "It's set 25 years before the factory — but like you said, there's 25 years and plenty more things that happen to Willy Wonka." So it's safe to assume that it's within those 25 years that the sequel to "Wonka" would be set, rather than jumping to a new adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
A 25-year gap between Wonkas
For Chalamet's part, he's interested in how his young version of Wonka becomes the darker and even more eccentric version we saw Gene Wilder play in the 1971 film adaptation. The actor 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." Based on Chalamet's performance, which veers more towards a Jim Carrey take on Willy Wonka than Gene Wilder, I'm not sure how we get from one to the other either, but I digress.
Wonka's introduction, in both the book and the 1971 film adaptation, finds the chocolatier reappearing after closing his factory to the public years before, after spies were constantly trying to steal the secret recipes to his unique treats. Suddenly, he opens the doors to the factory to just five lucky winners who find golden tickets hidden in Wonka candy bars. As we eventually learn, Wonka is eyeing retirement, and he was hoping to find a successor to take over the factory, bringing the same childlike wonder that he had for sweets when he first began.
Obviously, the Wonka we meet in Paul King's movie is just getting started, and a lot needs to happen to him in order to reach the point of that seasoned Wonka we know from the book and movie. Is that a role that Chalamet would take on years from now? Would they age him to lose that youthful expression, or would they find an older actor to take over the role? Perhaps King and Chalamet are content to let the original adaptation stand and tell stories leading up to the tale we're all familiar with. That may be better than trying to adapt the same story for a third time.
"Wonka" is in theaters everywhere now.