Weeks after taking home an academy award for his JoJo Rabbit script, Taika Waititi is delving into the Roald Dahl universe.
Waititi will be writing, directing and producing two new series’ on the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Netflix.
Taika Waititi will be writing, directing, and producing two new animated series’ of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Netflix.
Each animated series will cover two storylines. The first will revolve closely around the events of the book. Meanwhile, the second will entail a completely original take on the Oompa-Loompas. Knowing Waititi’s brazen sense of humour, his angle on Willy Wonka’s band of musical slave-labourers will surely be an entertaining one.
Netflix has stated that the series’ will preserve the tone of the original story, but the universe and characters will be further elaborated upon “for the very first time.” It marks the first significant expansion of the story, despite its numerous other adaptations for films, games and musicals.
Bringing Waititi on board signifies the first development since Netflix’s deal with Roald Dahl’s estate in 2018. Netflix’s Vice President of original animation, Melissa Cobb, stated that Waititi’s creative flair was perfect for this project.
“I grew up reading Dahl stories and lived large parts of my young life in those magical worlds, so finding just the right creative partner to bring Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Oompa-Loompas to life in animation was a daunting task … until Taika walked into the room. Then it was really obvious. If Dahl had created a character of a filmmaker to adapt his work, I’m pretty sure he would have created Taika.”
Waititi is currently one of the most in-demand filmmakers, and this latest adaptation will add to his growing list of projects. He is returning for another Marvel instalment, in Thor: Love and Thunder, while a new Star Wars film is also firmly in the pipeline.
