Timothée Chalamet’s Wonka is all set to hit US theaters and much of the world this Friday, but fans have long been curious about whether or not the latest installment in the Willy Wonka film franchise is a prequel to Gene Wilder’s iconic 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Here is all you need to know.
Is Wonka (2023) a prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?
According to director Paul King, Wonka is in a way a prequel to Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as it chronicles a young Wonka’s career prior to him becoming a successful businessman and owner of the Chocolate Factory.
Moreover, there are also hints of Wonka’s connection to Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. For instance, in the trailer for the film, Timothée Chalamet’s iteration of Wonka utters the iconic line “scratch that, reverse it”, which was once uttered by Wilder’s Wonka in the 1971 film. This makes the possibility of Chalamet playing a younger version of Wilder’s Wonka all the more likely.
Furthermore, Hugh Grant’s Oompa Loompa bears a noticeable resemblance to the Oompa Loompas scene in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Additionally, Wonka’s director Paul King also confirmed that 2023’s Wonka is related to 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, King addressed that the upcoming Timothée Chalamet film would serve as a companion piece to the 1971 film, while also saying that he did not want to reinvent the story but to honor it and honor Gene Wilder’s take on the character.
From both the trailer clues and Paul King’s statements, it seems clear that the upcoming Wonka movie is in a way an official prequel to Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
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