“Paddington” director Paul King to direct movie about Wonka’s adventures before opening chocolate factory

Paramount

Warner Bros. has set the Willy Wonka Prequel titled “Wonka” to be released on Mar. 17, 2023, the studio announced on Tuesday.

“Paddington” director Paul King will direct the movie about Wonka’s adventures before opening chocolate factory.

Warner Bros. acquired the rights to “Willy Wonka” from the Roald Dahl estate back in 2016 and is teaming up with “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman on a new movie based on the colorful chocolate purveyor.

Heyman, who produced the “Harry Potter” film series for Warner Bros., will produce the movie alongside Michael Siegel, the manager of the Dahl Estate.

Kevin McCormick will executive produce. Simon Rich, who wrote “The Secret Life of Pets,” is handling the screenplay, and Courtenay Valenti and Jon Gonda are overseeing the “Wonka” project for Warner Bros.

Gene Wilder, who embodied the character in the classic 1971 film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ” — based on Dahl’s 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” — and made it a beloved role for generations of schoolchildren, died in August 2016 at the age of 83. Warner Bros. rebooted the movie in 2005, with Johnny Depp playing Wonka.

If the movie does well, Warner Bros. could turn it into a franchise, with characters including Charlie making appearances in future installments.

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