“Jojo Rabbit” and “Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi has signed on to write, direct and executive produce two animated event series based on the Roald Dahl classic children’s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” for Netflix.
The first is based on the world and characters of the famed novel, while the second is dubbed a “wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas, the small song-loving humans who worked in Willy Wonka’s infamous factory”.
The shows are aiming to retain the quintessential spirit and tone of the original story, but at the same time “build out the world and characters far beyond the pages of the Dahl book for the very first time.”
Dahl’s book has been adapted into several films, games, musicals and more. Netflix closed a deal with Dahl’s estate in 2018 to adapt his works, with this marking the first effort of that deal. Plans for adaptations of “Matilda,” “The BFG” and “The Twits” are also on the way.
Waititi is in post-production on soccer comedy “Next Goal Wins,” is prepping Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” to direct in the second half of this year, is in talks with Lucasfilm to develop a “Star Wars” movie, and remains attached to at least produce the long in the works live-action “Akira” film at Warners.
Source: Heat Vision
