Tom Holland is one of the biggest movie stars in the world thanks to his fan-favorite turn as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man, but that doesn’t matter when Timothee Chalamet steps in.

Tom Holland began portraying Peter Parker, AKA the Amazing Spider-Man, in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and swiftly became one of the most dependable box office earners for Marvel Studios. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, his Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) managed to gross over a billion dollars and become the highest-performing movie of the entire year.
So it is safe to say that Tom Holland has some built-in appeal to both audiences and Hollywood producers. However, it has now been confirmed that the rumors are true: Holland was the front-runner to play Willy Wonka in the upcoming Wonka reboot until Timothee Chalamet became available.

Related: Tom Holland Confirms ‘Spider-Man 4’ Is Shut Down Indefinitely
It has to sting to be such a mega-star and still be pushed aside in favor of one of the other quickly-rising young actors in Hollywood, but according to Total Film Magazine, it was even more dramatic than that.
Paul King, the filmmaker behind the beloved Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017), reported that Tom Holland was the frontrunner to play the iconic Roald Dahl character in his upcoming prequel/reimagining, until he saw a YouTube video of Timothee Chalamet singing and dancing in high school.

Based on that and that alone, Chalamet became Paul King’s (who co-wrote Wonka with past collaborator Simon Farnaby) first and only pick for Willy Wonka. Prior to Tom Holland taking the lead, Donald Glover (who has also been increasingly prominent in the MCU Spider-Man franchise), Ryan Gosling, and Ezra Miller were all under consideration. Given the box office damage that Miller Flash movie has done to Warner Bros Discovery’s bottom line, it’s probably safe to say they will not be showing up in a Wonka movie any time soon.
The new Wonka movie will serve as a prequel to the classic Gene Wilder film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and will expand on original author Roald Dahl’s depiction of the eccentric candy maker and possible child murderer.

This time around, Timothee Chalamet will portray the character as an aspiring young chocolatier who arrives in a city controlled by a powerful cabal of candy barons and has to fight to make his way in that world and also sing some songs and do some dances.
Related: Johnny Depp’s Replacement as Willy Wonka Is a Lot Less Tragic
In addition to Chalamet, Wonka will co-star Rowan Atkinson, Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Grant, who gave one of his best performances in years as a narcissistic actor/supervillain in Paddington 2. In Wonka, he will play a surly Oompa-Loompa, so we’re pretty excited about everything. Sorry, Tom Holland.

Do you think Tom Holland would make a good Willy Wonka? Better than Johnny Depp? Let us know in the comments below!