WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: Prequel In The Works

Warner Bros. Pursuing Prequel To Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

Warner Bros. obtains rights to a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory prequel from the estate of author Roald Dahl.

The project will mark the third time the iconic character and world created by Dahl appear on the big screen. The original adaptation starring Gene Wilder came out in 1971, while Tim Burton‘s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – which tells the same story but shares its title with the book – starred Johnny Depp and saw release in 2005. It is unclear which of the two movies the movie will serve as a prequel to:

Rather than being based on Dahl’s 1964 children’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” or its 1972 sequel “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,” the movie will tell of an early adventure of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The Willy Wonka prequel will not be explicitly an origin story, and other characters from the series, like Charlie Bucket, may appear in future franchise installments if this one is a success.

Producer David Heyman of the Harry Potter franchise is set to produce the new film from a screenplay to be penned by “Man Seeking Woman” series creator Simon Rich, who also contributed material to Inside Out and The Secret Life of Pets. Courtenay Valenti (Mad Max: Fury Road) is overseeing the project for the studio.

Leave your thoughts on Warmer Bros. acquiring the rights to a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory prequel from the Roald Dahl estate (via Comingsoon.net) in the comments section below. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, our Movie News Facebook Page, and our Movie News Google+ Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook. No official release date has been offered for the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory prequel.