Johnny Depp wore the top hat of Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005. Soon, Timothee Chalamet, a prequel film simply called Wonka, will wear the velvet coat.

The new movie, which was announced in May 2021 will follow the eccentric candymaker during his early days as an entrepreneur. He is best known for his ability to hide golden tickets in chocolate bars. While the Depp version had flashbacks to Wonka’s early years, the new movie will likely focus solely on the events that took place before Charlie Bucket’s factory visit.

In October 2021, Chalamet posted an Instagram picture of himself dressed in Wonka’s costume. The Beautiful Boy star captioned this image with “The suspense in the film is horrible.” He was referring to Wilder’s movie version. “I hope it will endure.”

Although initial reactions to Wonka’s announcement were mixed, sentiment seemed to have improved a bit following the Oscar nominee’s post. Kiernan Shipka said, “OH MY LORD!” “Absolutely,” added Zendaya, Chalamet’s costar in Dune. Fans of non-celebrity stars were also thrilled, one follower writing: “I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED OVER ANYTHING.”

Fans were unable to picture anyone else playing Wonka’s iconic top hat and coat after the Little Women actor. However, Paul King had considered many other actors before Chalamet was chosen. The studio had reportedly considered Donald Glover and Ryan Gosling as well as Ezra Miller, Tom Holland, and Tom Holland when filming began in 2018.

The movie’s details are not available, but it looks promising. The beloved Paddington was previously directed by King, while Paddington ‘s producer David Heyman has been best known for his work on the Harry Potter films. In 1999, Lindy Humming won an Oscar for her work in Topsy Turvy. She’s also worked on the Dark Knight trilogy and Wonder Woman.

Seamus McGarvey was the movie’s cinematographer. Simon Farnaby, who worked previously with King on Paddington 2, also earned Oscar nominations. Producer designer Nathan Crowley has six Oscar nominations to his name for films such as Tenet and Dunkirk.