During an exclusive chat with Entertainment Weekly, director Paul King discussed his upcoming film, Wonka, and revealed that he "didn't want to reinvent" Gene Wilder's version of the classic character.
Wonka is a prequel that sees Timothée Chalamet portray a young version of the title character. The film was written by King and Simon Farnaby. In addition to Chalamet, Wonka also stars Calah Lane as a girl called Noodle, Olivia Coleman, Rowan Atkinson, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Paterson Joseph, Natasha Rothwell, Jim Carter, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Grant (as an Oompa Loompa).
As a long-time movie lover, King grew up watching the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which starred Wilder as the iconic candymaker. While discussing the Mel Stuart-directed musical, King told EW that everything from the song "Pure Imagination" to the character's costumes "felt like what a Willy Wonka movie should be."
So when it was time for the Paddington director to give audiences his take on the Roald Dahl story with the upcoming film, Wonka, King quickly realized what he didn't want to do with the film.
The director said, "I didn't want to reinvent those things 'cause it felt like that '71 movie had come up with these incredibly enduring, iconic looks. What I wanted this movie to be was like a companion piece to that movie. If you imagine those people in that world 25 years earlier, that was my starting process. Eventually, he would grow into that person and that factory."
It was back when King was wrapping up Paddington 2 that one of his producers, David Heyman, mentioned the idea of a young Wonka. King said that was all it took for him to latch onto the concept.
Paul King Said His Childhood Love for Charlie and Chocolate Factory "Attracted" Him to the Concept for Wonka
While discussing the reasons why he was drawn to taking on the challenge of bringing a new Wonka story to life, King noted:
"I think the reason I was so attracted to it was because I loved Charlie and Chocolate Factory as a little boy. It was one of the first books I ever properly fell in love with and was reading to myself. I had this very old-fashioned copy where all the pages would come out 'cause I read it [so much]. [Dahl] makes this story-book world with these larger-than-life characters and ridiculous, comic things that happen, but at the same time, you deeply care. I love the idea of telling a story where Willy Wonka wasn't just this magical, admirable, extraordinary, inventive character, but where he was actually the emotional heart of the movie."
For Wonka, King also worked with the Roald Dahl estate and explored the late author's archives to find further inspiration for the film.
The Bunny and the Bull director said, "It felt like an area that Roald Dahl was always exploring. He had a try writing a few stories and a few ideas. None of them ever quite hit his quality control threshold, I don't think, but it felt like he felt there was a life to Willy Wonka beyond Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and [sequel book] The Great Glass Elevator."
As for casting, King said that he's pleased to have gotten the Dune star to play the eccentric chocolate factory founder. He said, "I really don't think there are many people who could play this role at all. Those are mighty big shoes to fill."
Still, the director noted that Chalamet found "the manic and mischievous and mysterious energy you'd expect from Willy Wonka," as well as the heart of the character. King said:
"He's such a brilliant actor at expressing really deep emotions within the context of a family movie. He's just extraordinary as well at singing and dancing. He's got the voice of an angel and the toes of... I don't know what toes. I can't wait for people to see it. I think it's gonna blow people away."
Even so, King doesn't think that his take on the character is ever going to replace Wilder's version. He said, "I'm just happy to embrace that and walk in those enormous footsteps."
Wonka arrives in theaters on December 15th.