Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet is set to play Willy Wonka, one of Roald Dahl's most iconic characters, in a new origin movie from Paddington director Paul King.

According to Deadline, the film will explore the character's life as a young man, before he opens his world-famous chocolate factory. Co-written by King with his Paddington 2 co-writer Simon Farnaby, the script apparently includes several musical numbers that will allow Chalamet to show of his song-and-dance skills.

Chalamet follows in the footsteps of the late Gene Wilder, who famously portrayed Dahl's eccentric chocolatier in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and Johnny Depp, who starred in Tim Burton's 2005 take on the story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The new movie will tell an entirely new story centered on Wonka, with no place for Charlie Bucket, the young hero of Dahl's original novel. JoJo Rabbit's Taika Waititi is currently working on two animated series featuring Wonka's pint-sized factory workers the Oompa-Loompas.

Chalamet, who earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in Call Me by Your Name and further acclaim for roles in Little Women and Lady Bird, will next be seen in the eagerly-anticipated sci-fi epic Dune, which is due to arrive in theaters this October.

Can you picture Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka?