Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins and Olivia Colman have joined Timothée Chalamet in Wonka, Warner Bros.’ prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Paddington filmmaker Paul King is directing the movie, which begins principal photography Wednesday in London.
King has lined up a slew of Paddington or Paddington 2 vets in the cast, among them Tom Davis, Simon Farnaby and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Also on the roll call are Mathew Baynton, Jim Carter and Rich Fulcher.
In making the casting announcement, the studio described the story as an exploration of the “vivid, mythical beginnings of the imaginative young inventor before he becomes the renowned scrumdiddlyumptious Mozart of chocolate.” It takes place before the events of the Roald Dahl book.
David Heyman, who produced the Paddington movies, as well as the Harry Potter movies, is producing with Luke Kelly, who produced the recent feature adaptation of Dahl’s The Witches as well as the upcoming Matilda. Alexandra Derbyshire is also producing.
King wrote the script with Paddington 2 co-writer Farnaby. Previous scribes include Simon Rich, Simon Stephenson, Jeff Nathanson and Steven Levenson.
King is also working with several below-the-line members from his beloved Paddington movies, including editor Mark Everson and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming. Seamus McGarvey (Atonement) is the director of photography while Nathan Crowley (Dunkirk) is the production designer.
Neil Hannon of the band The Divine Comedy is writing original songs for the film.
