Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) Palin (as well as the other three Monty Python members) had all previously expressed interest in playing Wonka in the 1971 film adaptation. Johnny Depp was the only actor Burton considered for the role, although Dwayne Johnson was Burton's second choice in case Depp was unavailable. Depp signed on without reading the script under the intention of going with a completely different approach than what Gene Wilder did in the 1971 film adaptation. Depp said regardless of the original film, Gene Wilder's characterization of Willy Wonka stood out as a unique portrayal. Depp and Burton derived their Willy Wonka from
Wonka Bar Wonka Bar The Wonka Bar is both a fictional candy bar, introduced as a key story point in the 1964 novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl, and a type of consumer product candy bar inspired by the fictional confection. Wonka Bars appear in both film adaptations of the novel, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005), and the play "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical" (2013) each with different packaging. Varieties of Wonka Bars were subsequently manufactured and sold in the real world, formerly by the Willy Wonka Candy