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Ryan Gosling May Play Willy Wonka in Upcoming Prequel
A-list actor Ryan Gosling‘s career and Hollywood status has skyrocketed over the last few years. This year alone he has lead the award season race with La La Land, has been tipped to play the next James Bond, is hitting the big screen again in Blade Runner 2049 in October, and now he is rumored to be reviving the iconic role of Willy Wonka in an all-new prequel film.
The first screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was in back 1971, with the legend Gene Wilder as Wonka. Tim Burton then adapted the story in 2005 with Johnny Depp reviving the role after so long.
Gene in the original Willy Wonka.
It was first reported by Variety in October last year that Warner Bros was working on the forthcoming reboot. It’s since been revealed that the movie will center on Wonka’s early life and adventures — including how he met the Oopma Loompas in Loompaland — all before he founded his chocolate empire. Creator of the Harry Potter movie franchise David Heyman is at the helm of the new as-yet-untitled Wonka film.
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According to website That Hashtag Show, Warner Bros is currently looking for a male actor between 29 and 35 years old, and while Gosling is 36 he has previously expressed interest in the role and is reportedly on Hollywood’s shortlist.
The two past portrayals of Wonka — Gene and Johnny — were contrasting, to say the least. Predictions suggest that if Ryan were to follow in their footsteps he would lean more towards Gene’s poker-faced Wonka rather than Johnny’s zany, childlike portrayal.
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We already know from watching La La Land and Song to Song that Ryan can sing, so if the rumors are true we are holding out for a rendition of Pure Imagination.
This story originally appeared on Grazia.
Click through the gallery below to see the cast of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory then and now!
