Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them producer David Heyman is to work with Warner Bros. to bring a sequel to the magical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to screens. Trade paper Variety says that the WB have bagged the rights to the Wonka property from the estate of Roald Dahl and have set The Secret Life of Pets writer Simon Rich to work on the screenplay.
The trade adds that the film will NOT be an origin tale, but ‘a standalone movie focused on Wonka and his early adventures’. The word is that this could be the start of a new franchise with familiar characters like Charlie popping up in future movies.
Johnny Depp and the late, great Gene Wilder have played the part in past movies, and a stage production Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is currently enjoying its final year on the West End stage.
There’s no other news other than that – but we’ll keep you posted.
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