The first will be a straight adaptation that utilises the book's characters, such as the namesake's own Charlie and the various other personalities, such as the iconic Augustus Gloop.
Taika Waititi's second series will be wholly original, however, and it will be all about the lovable singing slave workers that are roped into Willy Wonka's nightmarish Saw-for-kids factory, the Oompa Loompas.
Roald Dahl's Netflix library won't stop here, however, as the Roald Dahl Story Company have handed the reigns to the children's classics kingdom over to the dominating streaming service, meaning that Matilda, The BFG, The Twits and more are set to be re-imagined (likely in animated fashion as Taika's series are). Will they be films, shows, original, straight adaptations, or both? We'll find out soon enough.
In the words of Willy Wonka himself – we are ‘Delighted! Charmed! Overjoyed!’ with Taika’s appointment on this project. There is something undeniably Wonka-esque about Taika’s creative flair and inimitable sense of humor and we cannot think of anyone more perfectly suited to leading the creative charge on these first of their kind, feature quality Netflix shows
Gideon Simeloff, the Commercial and Entertainment Director of The Roald Dahl Story Company.
Even Netflix's Vice President of Original Animation, Melissa Cobb, who grew up a Dahl fanatic, has sung the praises of Taika Waititi, saying that Roald himself would've likely picked the fast-growing, best-picture nominated director.
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It's safe to say that the shows are in safe hands, and more Roald Dahl is always a welcome sight, especially with a new and original spin on a brilliant classic - will the Oompa Loompa's origin story be like Joker or a little bit more light-hearted? Time will tell, although I'm leaning on the latter.
Featured image credit: IMDb
