Timothée Chalamet
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
London’s Royal Festival Hall was transformed into a whimsical Willy Wonka-themed spectacle for the world premiere of Warner Bros.’ musical, Wonka.
Timothée Chalamet — who stars as Wonka — graced the event, delighting fans with autographs and selfies on a red carpet adorned with oversized cotton candy clouds and jars of sweets. His co-stars, including Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, and newcomer Calah Lane, also made an appearance.
“Our cast is like a box of the most beautiful chocolates,” said director Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with his Paddington collaborator Simon Farnaby.
Paul King has also lauded Timothée Chalamet’s singing voice, likening it to that of Bing Crosby.
“There’s quite a range because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion, and he can do it all… I’m going to sound like a crazed fan,” he said in a previous interview.
Wonka serves as a prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, chronicling the origins of the iconic character portrayed over the years by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp.
The film comes nearly two decades after Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, also from Warner Bros., which acquired the rights to the character in 2016.
Much of Wonka was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, near London, with additional locations in U.K. cities like Oxford and Bath.
Wonka will premiere in the United Kingdom on Dec. 8 and in the U.S. on Dec 15.
