An Internet Boyfriend must occasionally falter. This summer, Timothée Chalamet, apparently the actual boyfriend of one Kylie Jenner, caused concern when the trailer dropped for the forthcoming musical-comedy Wonka. If the title did not make things clear, that’s an origin story about Willy Wonka, loved and loathed creation from loved and loathed author Roald Dahl. After critically-acclaimed turns in Bones and All and fronting the beloved Denis Villeneuve hit Dune, Chalamet’s new project seemed a little… (fruit and) nutty.
Wonka is set to focus on the young chocolatier making his way through the world (a sepia-toned London, shot in the more picturesque worlds of Bath and Oxford): just a boy who sings and dances and has a passion for all things chocolate. The only thing in his way is the “Chocolate Cartel” which, from the latest trailer, appears displeased with Wonka’s more accessibly-priced chocolate and his penchant for funny turns of phrase and general joie de vivre (three simple reasons to stay alive). Do you know who else was displeased? The online.
On X, formerly Twitter, many deemed Chalamet miscast in the role, converging around the point that he's not silly enough, or that he’s too silly, or that he’s simply not a good actor (it didn’t help when news broke that the actor did not have to audition). A not insignificant number of people would have preferred The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White in the top hat thanks to his resemblance to Gene Wilder, who played the titular role in the original film adaptation. Okay, they look a little alike, but I cannot for a moment imagine White as Wonka: it’s lowest common denominator casting, driven by nostalgia.
The fatigue with the endless loop of Hollywood’s prequels, reinventions and origin stories is easier to understand. A YouTube video entitled “Modern Wonka Doesn’t Work” – 1.2 million views and counting – makes a detailed argument against the film’s apparent clean-cut version of Dahl’s knotty classic. That original 1964 book has already been subject to two adaptations: 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factor and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (directed by Tim Burton). It is a story so familiar to British people that it seems like a family tale, something that happened to your weird uncle one time.
But, but, but. Wonka sure does have a lot of the right ingredients. Chalamet is a shiny American jewel at the centre of a terribly English production: Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and Olivia Colman all star. Hugh Grant, once a romantic lead and now a reliably bizarro presence, will play an Oompa-Loompa (I would have traded a golden ticket to have access to that casting conversation). The film is directed by Paul King, with a screenplay co-written by Simon Farnaby. King is responsible for the Paddington live-action adaptations – those films that you, your friends, your mother, and that person down the pub loves – and Farnaby, an established comedy writer, co-created BBC’s widely-loved Ghosts. If anyone is going to breathe new life into old IP, it is King. The uplifting tone – Hawkins whispering something about a dream, what will surely be the downfall of the “Chocolate Cartel” (words I cannot believe I am writing) – will surely tie happily in with the film’s Christmas release.
And now that two trailers have dropped, may we whisper: Chalamet looks like a perfect match for the young Wonka. He can be brooding (Dune), dickish (Lady Bird), and dorky (Don’t Look Up), all essential components for Dahl’s creation. His break-through, Call Me By Your Name, proved he can do lovesick if Wonka is to give him a love interest. And anyone familiar with his true masterpiece, the onstage rap persona of “Lil Timmy Tim”, knows that Chalamet can sing and dance with the best of them. One ticket to Wonka-ville, please!
‘Wonka’ unleashes into cinemas on 15 December
Henry Wong is a senior culture writer at Esquire, working across digital and print. He covers film, television, books, and art for the magazine, and also writes profiles.
