We're expecting the Wonka teaser trailer to be released later today, but in the meantime, Entertainment Weekly and People have shared a first look at the prequel. With these stills - showcasing Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa - come some long overdue story details.
It's said that we'll follow Willy's quest to open a chocolate shop based on the knowledge of sweets he's amassed from years of travelling the globe. However, it's then that the future factory owner clashes with the Chocolate Cartel!
The group is made of business tycoons Mr. Prodnose, Mr. Fickelgruber, and Mr. Slugworth, none of whom take kindly to Wonka's endeavours.
"I didn't want to reinvent those things 'cause it felt like that '71 movie had come up with these incredibly enduring, iconic looks," director Paul King says of his approach to the prequel. "What I wanted this movie to be was like a companion piece to that movie."
"If you imagine those people in that world 25 years earlier, that was my starting process. Eventually, he would grow into that person and that factory."
"Obviously, [Timothée]'s walking in the footsteps of some truly phenomenal performers who played the role before, so the bar was set very high," he'd add, referring to Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp's respective takes on the character.
This definitely sounds like a bonkers origin story for the iconic chocolatier from the classic Roald Dahl tale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, though with the Paddington helmer behind the camera, Wonka is in good hands.
Chalamet will be joined by Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, and Sally Hawkins. That trailer is expected to drop imminently, and we'll have it the second it's released by Warner Bros. For now, more stills can be found by following the links in the Tweets below.
Wonka is set to be released in theaters on December 15.