Timothee Chalamet as Willy Wonka and all the best on-screen Roald Dahl adaptations

The Call Me By Your Name actor will star as a young version of the chocolate factory owner.

Timothee Chalamet

Timothee Chalamet is set to take on a familiar role: Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka

Warner Bros studio says the 25-year-old will star in a musical prequel about the chocolate factory owner’s early life. According to Deadline, Chalamet will sing and dance for the role – the first time we’ve seen him do so on-screen.

Chalamet will be filling big shoes; the role of Wonka has previously been played by Gene Wilder in 1971, and Johnny Depp in 2005.

Written in 1964, Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is an imaginative tale of a chocolate factory full of mind-bending treats and orange Oompa-Loompas. Like so many of Dahl’s books, it’s full of colour and action – making it ripe for film adaptations.

If you can’t quite wait for Chalamet’s take on Willy Wonka, watch these classic Roald Dahl movies in the meantime…

Matilda

Not only would we argue this is the ultimate Roald Dahl adaptation, but we’d gladly spend an hour or two explaining why this is one of the best films ever made.

The 1996 movie has all the charm of the book, featuring a neglected Matilda Wormwood who loves books and has magical powers. There are almost too many iconic moments to recap, from Miss Trunchbull swinging a little girl around by her pigtails to Bruce Bogtrotter eating an entire chocolate cake – not to mention Danny DeVito as car salesman Harry Wormwood, accidentally gluing his hat to his head.

The Witches

Yes, we know The Witches recently got a star-studded remake, but our hearts really lie with the 1990 original.

To this day, we’re still terrified at the image of Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch, plotting to turn all the dirty children of the world into mice.

Fantastic Mr Fox

Wes Anderson’s style is eccentric, colourful and whimsical, making him a perfect match for Roald Dahl’s work. In 2009 he took on Fantastic Mr Fox, with the help of one George Clooney as the titular character.

The stop motion animation adds to the charm of this film, where Mr Fox tries to outsmart the three farmers hunting him down.

James And The Giant Peach

Like so many of Dahl’s books, James And The Giant Peach features a plucky kid surrounded by terrible adults – and in this story, James finds friendship among human-sized insects inside a giant peach.

The 1996 musical film is a treat from start to finish, mixing live action and animation to bring Mr Grasshopper, Miss Spider, Earthworm and more to life.

The BFG

Two Hollywood heavyweights came together for the 2016 adaptation of The BFG: Steven Spielberg as director and Mark Rylance as the voice of the Big Friendly Giant.

Orphan Sophie, 10, is whisked away to Giant Country by her new friend, the BFG, and together they must stop the plans of the evil, children-eating giants.