It's unclear if Warner Bros. and the Roald Dahl estate waited until Gene Wilder passed away to announce a new Willy Wonka film, but the timing sure is curious. Anyway, Variety says a new film featuring the iconic candymaker is in the works, but it doesn't look like this will be based on any previous source material.
Wonka has appeared in two movies on the big screen already. The classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which gave Wilder one of the roles he'll always be associated with. And then there was the atrocious 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which featured Johnny Depp's creepy Michael Jackson-esque version of the character. But this film will be centered specifically on one of Wonka's early adventures, which sounds like a prequel. Dahl never wrote any books specific to Wonka, so this is probably a brand new story.
No talent is attached yet but it'll be interesting to see who will take on the Wonka role next, and if the story reveals how he came up with the Everlasting Gobstopper then maybe it'll be worth it. I bet we get the beginnings of Wonka's feud with Slugworth, too. And this being Warner Bros., who are working with Harry Potter producer David Heyman, you can bet the plan is to launch a candy-coated franchise.
