Gene Wilder fans furious at plans for a new Willy Wonka movie

Fans of the late, great Gene Wilder have balked at the news that there’s a new Willy Wonka movie in the pipeline.

News has emerged that David Heyman, producer of the ‘Harry Potter’ movies, has joined with Warner Bros to bring a new version of Roald Dahl’s eccentric confectionary magnate to the big screen.

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According to reports from Variety, ‘the film will not be an origin tale, but a standalone movie focused on Wonka and his early adventures’.

While Dahl wrote two books based around the character of Charlie Bucket – ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator’ – there was never a book devoted solely to Wonka.

Heyman will be making the movie (or possibly *movies* if all goes well) alongside Michael Siegel, who is the manager of the Dahl estate.

But despite such endorsement, the news has gone down like snozzberry wallpaper among a vocal number of WIlder fans.

Wilder died on August 29 this year, following complications of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Not everyone seemed beside themselves about the idea, however:

As well as the original Wilder version, ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ from 1971, Tim Burton re-imagined the story in 2005, with Johnny Depp as the chocolatier.

As of 2013, the story has also been playing in the West End, and will shift to Broadway in April next year.