Keegan-Michael Key, a primetime Emmy winner, is going to make chocolate with Timothee Chalamet in Warner Bros. Wonka. Yum. Deadline confirmed the news about the latest cast member.
Wonka is an origin story of Roald Dahl’s famous Willy Wonka character. Dahl’s renowned children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory depicts a poor kid named Charlie Bucket who gets a golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka’s world-famous and the tightly guarded chocolate factory.
Wonka will center on a young Willy Wonka (Chalamet) and his adventures before opening the world’s most famous chocolate factory. So, no Charlie and his fellow golden ticket winners to be seen in this upcoming film.
The character that Key will play and the plot are kept under lock and key, just like the secret recipe to Wonka chocolate.
Paul King will direct the film, which he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby with previous writers including Simon Rich, Simon Stephenson, Jeff Nathanson, and Steven Levenson. King is best known for his directing skills in Paddington and Paddington 2. David Heyman (Harry Potter) will produce the film through his Heyday Films.
Key can be seen most recently in the comedy musical series Schmigadoon! on AppleTV+. Key is also set to star in Disney+ film Pinocchio from Robert Zemeckis, which will also star Tom Hanks.
Production of Wonka is set to begin in Sept.