Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

We were all so busy scrambling to avert one apocalypse today, we didn’t even see another one rearing its head in the distance. SlashFilm recently spoke to power-producer David Heyman at the junket for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and questioned the Hollywood player about the plans for Warner Bros.’ impending Willy Wonka film. Without making any concrete announcements about what to expect from the early-in-development project, Heyman did drop one rather ominous prophecy when asked whether the script would be a remake of the popular Gene Wilder-starring film or the Tim Burton-directed version.

Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory may be a world of pure imagination where the sky is the limit and anything is possible, but it’s hard to say the same about major studios, which keep returning to the same well of established franchises (including board games and toys) to cash-in on name recognition — why risk millions on an original, inventive idea when they can just repurpose a tried-and-true classic? Such is the case with good ol’ Willy Wonka, who is returning to the big screen in a new prequel film from the producer of the Harry Potter series.

Mel Stuart, the acclaimed director of 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,' passed away Thursday night in his Los Angeles home at the age of 83.