The Sweet First Trailer for 'Wonka' Takes Timothée Chalamet to a World of Pure Imagination

He's had his heart broken during a lusty Italian summer, romanced Saoirse Ronan in a Greta Gerwig film not once but twice, spiced up his life in a sci-fi saga and sported a taste for human flesh. The next addition to Timothée Chalamet's resume: a sweet time worshipping chocolate. Get ready for a big Timmy end of 2023, with Dune: Part Two hitting cinemas Down Under in November, then Wonka giving Roald Dahl's famous factory owner and candy man a Chalamet-starring origin story.

First gracing the page almost six decades back, in 1964 when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory initially hit print, Willy Wonka has made the leap to cinemas with Gene Wilder playing the part in 1971, then Johnny Depp in 2005. The difference this time: not just Chalamet plunging into a world of pure imagination, but a film that swirls in the details of Wonka's life before the events that've already been laid out in books and filled two movies.

As the just-dropped first trailer for Wonka shows, the picture's main man has a dream — and, after spending the past seven years travelling the world perfect his craft, he's willing to get inventive to make it come true. Starting a chocolate business isn't easy, especially when the chocolate cartel doesn't take kindly to newcomers. "You can't get a shop without selling chocolate, and you can't sell chocolate without a shop," the bright-eyed Willy is told early in the debut sneak peek.

From there, brainwaves, optimism, determination and life-changing choices all spring, plus big vats of chocolate, chocolate that makes you fly — "nothing to see here, just a small group of people defying the laws of gravity," comments a police officer — and Willy's dedication to making "the greatest chocolate shop the world has ever seen". Also accounted for: a mood of wonder, and not just due to the umbrella-twirling dream sequences and cane-whirling dance scenes, or the leaps through fairy floss and chats with Hugh Grant (Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) as an Ooompa-Loompa.

Indeed, the magical tone doesn't just fit the tale; it's exactly what writer/director Paul King and his co-scribe Simon Farnaby have become known for on the Paddington films. King helmed and penned both, while Farnaby also did the latter on the second (and acted in each). The duo also worked together on wonderful and underseen 2009 film Bunny and the Bull, and on The Mighty Boosh, of which King directed 20 episodes.

On-screen, Wonka's cast is as jam-packed as a lolly bag, with Chalamet and Grant joined by Farnaby (The Phantom of the Open), as well as Olivia Colman (Secret Invasion), Sally Hawkins (The Lost King), Keegan-Michael Key (The Super Mario Bros Movie), Rowan Atkinson (Man vs Bee), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey: A New Era) and Natasha Rothwell (Sonic the Hedgehog 2). Yes, you'll want a golden ticket to this.

Check out the first trailer for Wonka below:

Wonka releases in cinemas Down Under on December 14, 2023.