Timothée Chalamet still has not had his Titanic moment. Unlike most of the respected so-called “ artthrobs ” we’ve come across in movies, he doesn’t come from the blockbuster world, but from a modest queer arthouse film (a path you have heard of it several times before), taking its time to take center stage in a gigantic budget movie. This year’s epic Dune is about to change that, but Warner Bros. already has their eye on him for another talked-about project: playing Willy Wonka in an origin story-style film, similar to the one for which Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar. with Joker.
Yes, rumors are circulating this week that Warner Bros. is currently looking for who could play that lead role. This led to two opposing actors, united by their gigantic teenage fandoms: Timmy and Spider-Man star Tom Holland. Of course, filming hasn’t started yet, but it is expected to hit screens on March 17, 2023.
For one thing, Timothy’s angular and somewhat odd expressiveness would do a solid job of replicating the 2005 version of the character that Johnny Depp starred in. Charlie and the chocolate factory. On the flip side, there’s more warmth and comedic whimsy for someone like Tom Holland – like Gene Wilder in the 1971 version – who’s already made regular moves between the world’s biggest blockbusters and more projects. gloomy like The devil all the time. But the names people were talking about weren’t either when this project was implemented a few years ago. Names like Ezra Miller and Jared Leto have been traded with young stars.
Half the job of a good actor, alongside their agent, is to be strategic for their next move. Frequently asked questions: is this a good overview? Are the fees for this (expect a big bunch of salary for a big studio project with franchise potential) worth it if they bombard critics and audiences? And is the material strong enough that you can endure it through a five month shoot? If this project were on Timothy’s table, he and his team would likely be thinking about these questions, looking at what’s going on, looking at his current legacy, and wondering if a project like this l ‘would add or prevent it. .
While the Todd Phillips controversy Joker led Joaquin Phoenix to Oscar glory, it was a path that relied entirely on the darkness of the material. Currently attached to the film Wonka? Paddington director Paul King and David Heyman, who produced the Harry Potter series. It could be that this origin story is a little more foamy than that of The Joker, drawing in family audiences rather than criticism of the chin shots.
After all, no young actor in Hollywood has the weight that Timothy has. Every movement since Call me by your name exemplified its most endearing and impressive qualities. He went from a queer teen in love to a douchey high school student (Lady bird), to a methamphetamine addict in Young Henry V. Then he emphasized humility, returning to work as a small but important part of a talented ensemble in Little woman, then do the same in the invisible The French dispatch – the two projects with beloved arthouse filmmakers. His next is what all this prepares for: being strong enough to attract a huge following to Dune; a science fiction blockbuster, yes, but directed by a man known to have brought excellence to this usually tasteless territory, Denis Villeneuve.
The question right now is not so much whether Timothée Chalamet can capture the eccentricity of the famous fictional chocolatier, but rather whether he should. With a long-delayed London theater debut in the pipeline, leading The Old Vic’s 4000 miles, Adam McKay’s Do not seek next to Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio, and with his formal attachment to that paused Bob Dylan biopic, he’s booked for jobs that don’t drastically divert him from his path. The seeds have long been planted for TC to move on to a kingdom that makes legends like Daniel Day-Lewis. Could he win any awards from a family film based on a book by Roald Dahl? Probably not. Does he need it? Probably not.
