The Academy Award-winning director Taika Waititi has signed a deal with Netflix to write, direct and produce two animated series based on the works of the children’s author, Roald Dahl.
The entertainment giant said Waititi’s collaboration with Netflix would be “based on the world and characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, while the second series would be a “wholly original take” on the Oompa-Loompas, the diminutive and mysterious workers who dispense chocolate, and sometimes cautionary advice, at Willy Wonka’s factory.
Waititi won an Academy Award in February for his adapted screenplay, Jojo Rabbit, which he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in. The film centres on a Hitler-obsessed 10-year-old German boy in the 1930s, who discovers a Jewish girl is hiding in his house. Described as “Nazi-satire” it was based on Caged Skies, a 2008 novel by Christine Leunens.
Netflix said the animation series of Dahl’s works would “retain the quintessential spirit and tone of the original story while building out the world and characters far beyond the pages of the Dahl book for the very first time”.
Netflix US
(@netflix)Taika Waititi will write, direct, & EP two animated series based on the works of Roald Dahl.
The first is based on the world and characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The second is a wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas, that builds out their world pic.twitter.com/TqIzxTlRSf
A Netflix statement said the collaboration would mark the beginning of an “extensive partnership” with the Roald Dahl Story Company, which will reimagine many of the beloved stories of Roald Dahl, including Matilda, The BFG, and The Twits.
“There is something undeniably Wonka-esque about Taika’s creative flair and inimitable sense of humour and we cannot think of anyone more perfectly suited to leading the creative charge on these first of their kind, feature quality Netflix shows,” said Gideon Simeloff, commercial and entertainment Director, Roald Dahl Story Company.
Waiti’s other notable works include 2016’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a comedy about a foster child who goes on the run from social services with his carer, and Thor Ragnarok from the Marvel series, starring Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk.
His Netflix series will follow in the footsteps of Gene Wilder’s 1971 portrayal of Willy Wonka and Johnny Depp’s 2005 interpretation.
