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
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (musical) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (musical) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a stage musical based on the 1964 children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, with book by David Greig, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The musical premiered in London's West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in June 2013 and ran for 3 years and 7 months before closing in January 2017. The show was reworked for a Broadway production opening in April 2017 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and ran almost nine months before closing in January 2018. The