The Rock Was Almost Willy Wonka: Tim Burton Shortlisted Dwayne Johnson for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Golden-ticket twist: Dwayne Johnson says Tim Burton had him on the shortlist to play Willy Wonka in his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake.
File this under casting what-ifs that make your brain glitch for a second: Dwayne Johnson says Tim Burton once had him on the shortlist to play Willy Wonka. Yes, The Rock. As Wonka. In Burton's 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I know.
How this came up
Johnson shared the story in an Instagram post after showing his kids the 1971 Gene Wilder classic. They loved it, and now apparently expect Dad to conjure an actual candy room. He joked that might be his next project. Then he dropped the nugget: in the early 2000s, Tim Burton considered him for the title role in Burton's remake.
- Johnson says he was on Burton's shortlist in the early 2000s, when he was just breaking into Hollywood.
- His reaction in the moment was basically: "HOLY SHIT, IM IN."
- He adds he did not yet have the global box office pull or the acting reps to pull it off.
- The part ultimately went to Johnny Depp, who Johnson calls the biggest star in the world at that time.
- He jokes Burton probably considered him for about seven seconds, but says even that meant a lot back then.
"I will always raise a glass to the dreams that don't come true, because sometimes they're the best thing that never happened."
The context
Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hit in 2005 with Johnny Depp as a reimagined, off-kilter Wonka. Gene Wilder remains the blueprint from 1971, and Timothee Chalamet took his own swing in 2023. Johnson is saying that before all that locked in, Burton gave him a look during Johnson's early Hollywood years. He tagged the post with the very specific hashtag: #BigBrownBaldTattooedWonka.
Would it have happened?
Probably not, and Johnson knows it. By his own account, he did not have the experience yet, and Depp was, well, Depp. Still, it's a fascinating peek at the kind of names that get floated during those early casting conversations.
Could 2005 have handled a candy-coated Rock in a top hat? Hard to picture. But now I kind of want to see the screen test that almost certainly does not exist.