Timothee Chalamet plays the famed chocolatier Willy Wonka in the former film and reprises his role as Paul Atreides in 'Dune: Part Two', which also features Zendaya's return as Chani.
- Apr 26, 2023
AceShowbiz - Timothee Chalamet pulled a double duty at CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas. Joining Warner Bros. presentation on Tuesday, April 25, the actor promoted not just one, but two of his upcoming films, "Wonka" and "Dune: Part Two".
For the Willy Wonka movie, the studio prepared a trailer for the musical fantasy film. In the trailer, Chalamet's Wonka sings, dances and spins around a light pole as he searches the world for magical recipes. He also meets one of the Oompa Loompas, played by Hugh Grant, trapped in a tiny glass jar. He later hires Grant's character to keep his factory up and running.
Wonka later attempts to make people fly with his enchanted chocolates. The trailer also offers glimpses of Olivia Colman as Cockney innkeeper, Sally Hawkins as Wonka's beloved mother and newcomer Calah Lane as the chocolatier's new friend. "Every good thing in this world started with a dream," Wonka can be heard saying in the trailer. "So you hold onto yours."
Appearing onstage, Chalamet said he ate "too much chocolate" for the movie. Despite the stomach aches from ingesting too many sweet treats, he called the role "a dream come true." Comparing his iteration to past versions of the character, he said the previous iterations were "cynical," whereas his "is a Willy that's full of joy and hope and desire to become the greatest chocolatier."
Chalamet was also on hand for the "Dune" sequel panel along with his co-star Zendaya Coleman. In the footage shown to the crowd, Paul (Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) sit together on sand. Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan wants to bring House Atreides to an end. Javier Bardem's Stilgar explains to Paul how to ride the worm. Grappling a hook and wrestling against the wind, he ultimately mounts and rides the beast. The onlookers cheer for him.
Black-and-white footage of fights in a colosseum juxtaposes with colored footage of hostages of war. Paul rises as a great leader among the Fremen, rallying all of his people as there's a shot of someone's eyes turning blue. He's also seen fighting knife to knife with Austin Butler's Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
Zendaya assured that her character would have a more prominent role in the upcoming movie. "She's not just in dreams this time," she said of Chani. "I only got a small time to find out who she was [in Part One]. … These are still two young people who are trying to grow up, fall in love and leave, being a warrior for your people."
Meanwhile, director Denis Villeneuve explained that " 'Part Two' is an epic war movie, much more dense." He went on teasing, "We visited Arakis. We visit new locations; everything is new in the film. In the first movie, we shot 40% in Imax - this time it's full Imax."
"Wonka" is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on December 15, while "Dune: Part Two" will hit theaters across the states on November 3.
