Willy Wonka reboot in the works with Paddington director

13 years on from Tim Burton’s film, Paul King – director of the Paddington movies – is in final negotiations to direct Willy Wonka, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

This would see King reunite with David Heyman, the producer of the Paddington movies. Simon Rich, writer of Pixar’s Inside Out, is reported to be writing the movie.

King’s adaptation would follow 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the film that gave us Gene Wilder’s impossibly brilliant Pure Imagination song) and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the one with Johnny Depp as Wonka).

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, first published in 1964, follows the story of 11 year old Charlie Bucket and legendary chocolatier, Willy Wonka. After Wonka announces he’ll be re-opening his factory, Charlie finds a golden ticket that allows him to go on a tour of the chocolate-making plant. It's here he comes across weird and wonderful machines, Oompa Loompas and a surprising final revelation.

Reports suggest Willy Wonka could be part of a series of Dahl movies. Story The Witches has a script written by Guillermo del Toro and is attracting directors, with Robert Zemeckis (Back to The Future) said to have met for the project.