Director Paul King wants his prequel movie Wonka to serve as a “companion piece” to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his latest project, Wonka, the Paddington director stated that he was not interested in recreating the iconic 1971 movie, starring Gene Wilder as the eccentric chocolatier.

“I didn’t want to reinvent those things ’cause it felt like that ’71 movie had come up with these incredibly enduring, iconic looks,” Paul told the outlet.

“What I wanted this movie to be was like a companion piece to that movie. If you imagine those people in that world 25 years earlier, that was my starting process. Eventually, he would grow into that person and that factory.”

According to the recently released trailer, Wonka tells the story of a young Willy Wonka, who is played by Timothée Chalamet. The younger version of the beloved character follows his dreams by embarking on an adventure to open his own chocolate shop.

In 2005, a second movie adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic novel was released. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Tim Burton, starred Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka alongside Freddie Highmore and Helena Bonham Carter.

Wonka, also starring Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, and Olivia Colman, will be released on 15 December.

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