Following his take on Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Donald Glover is now being connected to another iconic character—just one you might not expect: Willy Wonka.
Collider reports that Donald Glover is on Warner Bros’ shortlist to play the eccentric businessman. Other names on the list include Ryan Gosling and Ezra Miller
I know what you’re thinking: they’re making another Willy Wonka movie?
Ugh, I’m with you on that. Everyone knows and loves Gene Wilder’s Wonka, and Johnny Depp’s version had his moments, but do we really need to see more? Is there anything left to explore?
Apparently, there is: this new film—from Paddington director Paul King and Harry Potter producer David Heyman—is rumored to be an origin story, detailing how Wonka gained his fortune to become the oddball chocolatier we all know and love.
Once you (and I) get past the initial distaste for the proliferation of origin stories/reboots/etc, I think this one could turn out fairly well. The director, King, has had success making engaging, family-friendly films with the Paddington franchise, and I could see any of those three actors—Glover, Gosling, or Miller—offering up a decent, younger version of Wonka.
Glover, in particular, would be a lot of fun, especially after seeing him develop as an actor with Atlanta and Star Wars. Of course, Glover as Wonka would likely prove ‘controversial,’ given the race change—but is Wonka’s ‘whiteness’ really integral to his character? I don’t think so.
So if he can turn in a good performance (which he obviously can), I say bring it on.
But even if Willy Wonka doesn’t work out for Glover, he’s still got a lot more coming down the pipeline. Namely, season 3 of Atlanta.
