Movie fans are living through an unfortunate age in which any kind of sequel, prequel, or spin-off imaginable is probably in development somewhere. Audiences are starved for original stories in today’s moviegoing climate. That’s not to say that there aren’t any non-franchise gems out there if audiences know where to look for them. This year alone,X,The Northman, andEverything Everywhere All at Oncewere all visually stunning, delightfully entertaining, wildly original movies that did exciting, brand-new things within the frameworks of well-worn genres. There are always great original movies getting made.
But in a franchise-driven industry, the filmmakers with the most money and resources are the least concerned with originality. Studios keep pumping out movies that feel more like products than films, hoping to capitalize on a familiar pop culture icon as opposed to telling a story that really needs to be told. In some of these cases, there doesn’t seem to be a story to tell at all.Lucasfilm made a Han Solo origin movieto cash in on a recognizable I.P., but it bombed at the box office because audiences already saw Han’s journey from a cold-hearted gunslinger to a noble hero in the originalStar Warstrilogy. Sony is stretching its Marvel universe so thin that the studio is working on solo films for every obscure Spider-Man supporting character from Kraven the Hunter to Madame Web to El Muerto.
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One upcoming studio tentpole that feels particularly unnecessary is theWonkamovie starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka, set to bereleased on June 15, 2025. Cashing in on his post-Duneblockbuster cred, Chalamet will be backed up by a star-studded supporting cast including Sally Hawkins, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Colman, and Rowan Atkinson. This Warner Bros. production promises to fill in Wonka’s origins, but the character’s backstory was already explored extensively in Tim Burton’sCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, from his childhood to his early days with the Oompa Loompas.
Is A Willy Wonka Origin Movie Really Necessary?
On paper,Wonkaseems like a room full of studio executives packaging a movie together based on a property they happened to own the rights to in the hopes of kickstarting a new cinematic universe. But it’s unfair to write off the entire movie based on that assumption, becauseWonkahas an ace up its sleeve: director Paul King. With movies likeWonkaandMorbiusandEl Muertogetting fast-tracked into production, the cinematic landscape is looking pretty bleak. But the rise of I.P. movies doesn’t have to mean the death of cinema. Talented filmmakers can find a way to make even the most frivolous franchise expansion work on its own terms.
A lot of recent I.P. projects that existed purely to advertise toys, likeThe Lego Movie, or to pad out the original content library of a fledgling streaming service, likePeacemaker, have managed to justify themselves. AfterThe Suicide Squadintroduced Peacemaker as a one-note antihero, he didn’t need his own spin-off. But James Gunn used the extended runtime of the series to dig deep into the character’s psyche and expose his vulnerabilities and traumas and what makes him tick. WhileJohn Cena’s jingoistic gunslingerwas somewhat forgettable in the movie, his surprisingly poignant performance in the spin-off series has made Peacemaker one of the most beloved characters in the DCEU.
Wonka Could Pull A Paddington
King himself, the man bringing Chalamet’s Wonka to the screen, pulled off his ownLego Movie/Peacemakergambit with his live-actionPaddingtonmovies. A live-action Paddington Bear movie seemed pointless a decade ago, especially with all the generic movies about CG animals living among humans peddled by Hollywood. But King ended up making a near-perfect movie (andanother one three years later) that whisked the audience away on a thrilling adventure and captured the spirit of the character beautifully. King might find a fresh approach to the story of an eccentric chocolatier in the same way he found a fresh approach to the story of a raincoat-wearing, marmalade-loving Peruvian bear who moves to London. Audiences who are understandably skeptical about a Willy Wonka origin movie might be surprised whenWonkahits theaters next December. Based on his flawless batting average with thePaddingtonfilms, King’sWonkamovie could turn out awesome.
Hollywood has a few similar projects in the pipeline that feel like unnecessary reboots but have enough promising filmmaking talent behind them to earn some faith. Over the next few years, cinemagoers will be treated to a sure-to-be-subversiveBarbiemoviedirected by Greta Gerwig, a sure-to-be-bittersweetIndiana Jonessend-off fromLogan’s James Mangold, andStar Warsspin-offs helmed by Taika Waititi, Patty Jenkins, and Kevin Feige. Original movies aren’t going anywhere, but even if the franchises did manage to dominate the entire film industry, there’s no reason the franchise movies need to be corporate products. Just get people like King and Gerwig and Waititi to bring their originality and idiosyncratic flair to a franchise world.
