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Netflix has announced New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi will voice Willy Wonka in a Sony-animated feature film reimagining the Roald Dahl classic.
Titled Charlie vs the Chocolate Factory, the animated film is set for a 2027 release, with English actor Kit Connor set to star opposite Waititi.
Connor, best knownfor his Emmy-winning performance in Netflix series Heartstopper, has been cast as teenager Charlie Pailey, a new protagonist being introduced to the Wonka world.
Waititi will voice a reimagined version of the colourful chocolatier in the years following the original story.
In Netflix’s take, which takes place in modern-day London, Wonka has recently left prison after serving time for turning a child into a blueberry.
He returns to his factory with a pledge to rebuild his name, but he soon runs into trouble with Pailey and his friends, who are plotting to break in and steal a prized Wonka Bar to save their homes.
Taika Waititi is set to voice Willy Wonka in Netflix's animated reimagining of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Photo / Getty Images
The animated feature will be directed by Jared Stern and Elaine Bogan, with Aron Warner and Timothy Yoo producing.
Waititi also serves as an executive producer for the film.
“Our directors, Jared and Elaine, have a bold vision befitting this new adventure whilst remaining sympathetic to the legacy, and I’m thrilled to play my part in bringing Willy Wonka to life in animated form,” Waititi said in a statement.
“He is so special to me, and the opportunity to voice such an iconic, eccentric candy genius – if a little mischievous at times – is hugely exciting.”
The news comes three years after the release of live-action origin film Wonka, which starred Timothée Chalamet as a younger version of the chocolatier as he attempts to open his first chocolate shop.
A first-look image from Netflix’s upcoming animated feature, "Charlie vs the Chocolate Factory". Photo / Netflix
Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021 for a reported £500 million ($1.15b) with plans to develop the author’s work across film, television and games.
Waititi was originally brought on to the project in 2020, when Netflix announced it would create two animated series based on Dahl’s iconic children’s book – one focused on the original story and another centred on the Oompa-Loompas.
The TV projects have since been consolidated into the feature film announced today.
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