The 1971 musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory remains a holiday classic for many but the 2005 remake starring Johnny Depp still sends shivers down our spine.
Can a remake that looks at the character so famously brought to life by Gene Wilder make for a worthy origins movie?
The last we heard about the proposed film was when Ryan Gosling was rumoured to be interested in the role, but there have been no developments on this.
Now it looks like Paul King, who directed Paddington 2, one of only four films to achieve a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is in talks with Warner Bros to helm the project.
King’s credits include the first Paddington movie, and he also directed TV series The Mighty Boosh and Come Fly with Me. As previously reported, Simon Rich (The Secret Life of Pets) is penning the script. Producer David Heyman, who worked with King on both Paddington movies, is overseeing the project.
According to EW, the film looks at Willy Wonka’s adventures before the events of Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.