Timothée Chalamet said yes to Wonka because he thinks we all need it right now

Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Timothée Chalamet has revealed why he said yes to starring in Wonka as the titular chocolatier – and it's a very wholesome reason.

"To work on something that will have an uncynical young audience, that was just a big joy," Chalamet told Vogue. "That's why I was drawn to it. In a time and climate of intense political rhetoric, when there's so much bad news all the time, this is hopefully going to be a piece of chocolate."

Wonka footage has yet to be revealed to the public, but some did play behind closed doors for CinemaCon attendees. The footage revealed that Hugh Grant will be playing an Oompa Loomp a, while Sally Hawkins plays Wonka's mother, and Calah Lane plays a friend of the chocolatier's.

"This is a Willy that’s full of joy and hope and desire to become the greatest chocolatier," Chalamet told the CinemaCon crowd.

The film will be a prequel that explores Wonka's origins, directed by Paddington and Paddington 2 helmer Paul King. Rowan Atkinson and Olivia Colman are also part of the cast, along with Matt Lucas, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jim Carter.

Chalamet can next be seen in the highly anticipated Dune 2, in which he plays Paul Atreides opposite an all-star cast that includes Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and many, many more.

He'll also be starring as Bob Dylan in a biopic of the singer-songwriter. James Mangold is directing and Elle Fanning will co-star.

Wonka arrives this December 15. While you wait, check out our guide to all of 2023's major movie release dates for everything else the year has in store.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.