Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover & Ezra Miller Make The "Willy Wonka" Shortlist

By Daniel Howat 

Jeff Sneider over at Collider reports that Warner Bros. has three actors atop their shortlist for a new "Willy Wonka" reboot. They’ve been toying with a new Wonka film for a few years now, and it seems like it’s finally coming together.

​Keep reading below for more info on the project.

Ryan Gosling, Donald Glover, and Ezra Miller are the three top choices to play Willy Wonka in a new version of the familiar story. Months ago, the studio officially announced “Paddington” director Paul King would take the helm of the picture. The reboot will be produced by “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman, and written by former SNL writer Simon Rich.

Ryan Gosling seems like the most commercial choice for the project. He’s been a bankable star at Warner Bros. for years. Even though he’s avoided franchises or tentpoles, Gosling’s a safe bet that audiences would be comfortable with. He’s got “First Man” coming out this fall, so he could have yet another Oscar nomination coming his way.

Donald Glover is having a genuine moment right now, so it’s obvious any studio would want to get him in a potential franchise. Glover just wrapped up a critically acclaimed second season of “Atlanta,” the show he created, stars in, writes, and directs. He portrayed Lando Calrissian in “Solo,” and was largely singled out so stealing the show. His music video for “This Is America” exploded on the internet. He’s also got “The Lion King” coming out next year. If WB wants to try something different, Glover would be a unique take that would draw a lot of people in.

Ezra Miller is an interesting pick here. He arguably fits the description of Wonka the best, despite his somewhat young age. He’s also by far the least-known star of these three, playing somewhat smaller roles in David Heyman’s “Fantastic Beasts” and “Justice League.” He’ll star as The Flash in a solo film soon, though that movie has struggled to come together. If Warner Bros. is willing to take more of a risk with Wonka, Miller might be the way to go.

Interestingly, with King as director, there’s another actor who could be an excellent, lesser-known choice: Ben Whishaw. He’s voiced Paddington in the two films, and could capture the mystery of Wonka very well. Perhaps we’ll know soon if any other actors have a shot, or if this shortlist is the end of it.

It’s currently unknown if the project is yet another adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or something different. That book was previously adapted into the 1971 classic “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” starring Gene Wilder. Less successfully, Tim Burton directed the quirky “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” starring Johnny Depp in 2005. Dahl wrote a sequel book, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, which has never been adapted. It’s easy to imagine Warner Bros. wants to try something different this time around.

So what do you think? Who do you want to see play Willy Wonka? Do you even want a new Willy Wonka film? Let us know in the comments section below.

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