Warner Brothers has set a March 17, 2023 release date for Wonka, an origin story for the reclusive chocolate factory owner from Roald Dahl’s classic 1964 book Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and its 1972 sequel Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator.
Paul King, who has already shown ability at adapting beloved British children’s properties with his 2014 film Paddington and its 2017 sequel, will direct.
No actors have been publicly connected to the project right now. Last time we had any word on the project, in June 2018, it was that three actors were allegedly being considered for the lead by Warner Brothers – Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover and Ezra Miller. There is no reportage as to whether the studio is still considering any of them or if they haved on to other potential actors.
The barebones news release also doesn’t mention who is currently working on the screenplay for the project. When word first came of the project in 2016, The Secret Life Of Pets screenwriter Simon Rich was penning the script. Prior to that, a Willy Wonka origins screenplay also titled simply Wonka, written by Jason Micallef, scripter of the 2011 dark comedy Butter, which made it onto the 2014 Black List, though no studio showed an interest in picking it up.
Famously, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory was adapted for the big screen as Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, with Gene Wilder as the magical Wonka.
