Netflix has ordered two Charlie and The Chocolate Factory series after announcing it had acquired the rights to many of Ronald Dahl’s beloved classics and is planning to develop them as new “animated event series” that both adapt and expand on the stories of Matilda, The BFG, The Twits and many more.
The streaming service also announced Thor: Ragnarok Taika Waititi will be involved in the two Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series.
Netflix’s VP of Original Animation, Melissa Cobb, released a statement, saying: “I grew up reading Dahl stories and lived large parts of my young life in those magical worlds, so finding just the right creative partner to bring Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Oompa-Loompas to life in animation was a daunting task … until Taika walked into the room. Then it was really obvious. If Dahl had created a character of a filmmaker to adapt his work, I’m pretty sure he would have created Taika.”
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Netflix made a deal with Dahl’s estate in 2018.
“In the words of Willy Wonka himself: We are ‘Delighted! Charmed! Overjoyed!’ with Taika’s appointment on this project,” said Gideon Simeloff, commercial and entertainment director for The Roald Dahl Story Company. “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.”
“Our mission, which is purposefully lofty, is for as many children as possible around the world to experience the unique magic and positive message of Roald Dahl’s stories,” Roald Dahl’s widow, Felicity Dahl, said in an earlier statement. “This partnership with Netflix marks a significant move toward making that possible and is an incredibly exciting new chapter for the Roald Dahl Story Company. Roald would, I know, be thrilled.”
Waititi recently won the Oscar for best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit, in which he played as Hitler as a boy’s imaginary friend. He is also the director behind Thor: Ragnarok and it’s upcoming sequel Thor: Love and Thunder. He will also write direct, and executive produce the two Netflix animated series.
One series will be based on the world and characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while the other series is described as “a wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas, that builds out their world.”