Wonka star Keegan-Michael Key has heaped praise on his co-star Timothée Chalamet and his portrayal of Willy Wonka during his early years. Speaking with THR, Key had nothing but nice things to say about Chalamet, describing his “wonderful effortlessness” in playing the iconic character before calling the young actor a “really delicious artist.” Which sounds like the perfect combination for someone playing the chocolate-loving Wonka.
“There’s this wonderful effortlessness about how he plays Wonka, not to mention the fact that there’s this hopeful quality that he gives the character, a kind of indomitable quality that he’ll never quit, he’s always up for the next thing. He’s like, ‘OK, that didn’t work out? We’ll do this and we’ll try something else.’ And Timothée Chalamet, what can I say? Sacrébleu! This kid, you know, he drips charisma and a wonderful confidence. He’s just a really delicious artist.”
As well as applauding the central performance of Chalamet, Key went on to tease the musical numbers that will feature in Wonka, revealing that, while he only has a handful, Chalamet will be testing his vocal skills many times over.
“He has seven musical numbers and I have two, one of them is a group number and another is a smaller group number. I would agree with all the adjectives Timothée used and I would also like to add the words wondrous and a little bit epic. It’s 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.”
Key agreed with Chalamet’s description of Wonka as being “so sincere” and “so joyous,” and while his role in proceedings remains unknown, the actor and comedian clearly has nothing but great things to say about the upcoming prequel.
Wonka is Due to Land in Theaters Next Year
Wonka will introduce a much younger version of the Roald Dahl character than fans are used to. The movie will explore the early years of the titular chocolate fanatic and tell the story of a young Willy Wonka and his adventures before opening the world's most famous chocolate factory.
Much like both 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and the 2005 remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka will be a musical adventure. The prequel is set to feature original songs courtesy of Neil Hannon, the lead singer of the band The Divine Comedy.
Directed by Paddington filmmaker Paul King from a screenplay written by King and Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2), Wonka stars Dune actor Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka alongside the likes of Keegan-Michael Key (Keanu, The Super Mario Bros. Movie), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Johnny English), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Olivia Colman (The Crown), Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), Tom Davis (Murder in Successville), Simon Farnaby, Rich Fulcher (The Mighty Boosh), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Mary Poppins Returns), Paterson Joseph (Noughts + Crosses), and Matt Lucas (Alice in Wonderland).
Wonka is scheduled to be released on December 15, 2023 by Warner Bros. Pictures.