One of the most anticipated movies of this year is Paul King’s ‘Wonka,’ hitting theaters in the United States on December 15th. The movie stars Timothee Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka alongside Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, and Olivia Colman. This film stems as a prequel to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005), telling about how Willy Wonka became the famous Chocolate maker he is today. Timothee’s role as Wonka was first announced in May 2021, soon followed by filming in London, as well as other parts of the United Kingdom. Initially many people were very doubtful about Timothee’s role to embody such a humorous and quirky character. His previous films Beautiful Boy (2018) and Call Me by Your Name (2017) portrayed more serious tones, consistent in Chalamet’s filmography. . Yet, after the release of the official trailer Timothee was able to prove his capability to portray Wonka and show everyone he can play a fun character just as much as a sad one. The commitment to playing someone like Wonka required Chalamet to have to train learning how to sing and dance for the role. According to him, it was the most physically demanding project he has ever worked on. Chalamet grew up in New York City and was raised around music and theater, so he had some preparation for the demands of the role, but it still took diligence. 

Director Paul King described the theme of the film to be, “about the families that we are born into and the lasting impression they made, and the families that we find along the way”. He wanted to make the movie more optimistic than the previous films, allowing the movie to be the perfect watch this holiday season.