Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover on the Shortlist for Iconic Role

It's a wacky and dark role with at least one iconic performance already.

According to Jeff Sneider at Collider, Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover and Ezra Miller are on the short list to play the iconic Willy Wonka in a ‘prequel’ or ‘origin story’ about the famous chocolatier.

 

Willy Wonka was created by Roald Dalh in the 1964 book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The role of the eccentric candy-maker has been played on the big screen by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), both of which told the story from the original book.

Sneider says the new movie is rumoured to be a prequel that may answer “How did he amass his fortune, […] how did he meet those Oompa Loompas?” To the latter question, in 2005 Tim Burton adaption gave this short explanation:

 

Who do you think should play the role of Willy Wonka in the new movie?

Picture courtesy of Jeff Sneider via Twitter