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We need to talk about how Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson almost played Willy Wonka

The People’s Champ almost had a golden ticket

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE We need to talk about how Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson almost played Willy Wonka
In this Dec. 5, 2019 file photo, actor Dwayne Johnson poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Jumanji The Next Level’, in central London.

Actor Dwayne Johnson poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Jumanji The Next Level’, in central London on Dec. 5, 2019.

Joel C Ryan/Invision/Associated Press

I was today years old when I found out Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson almost played Willy Wonka in the 2005 remake.

USA Today released a list of casting what-ifs, which included how George Clooney almost played Paul Newman in “The Notebook” and Brie Larson auditioned for “Avatar.”

Interestingly, it pointed to an Instagram post from Johnson, who said he almost played Willy Wonka in Tim Burton’s reboot, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

  • Johnson wrote: “Some cool history — back in the early 2000’s, iconic director, Tim Burton had considered me to play Willy Wonka is his remake, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’”

The Instagram post has mature language, so we didn’t link to it. But it include a clip of the film, with Johnson saying he was showing the film for the first time.

The role eventually went to Johnny Depp.

Johnson went on to play other family-friendly roles, including “Moana,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Jumanji: The Next Level” and the upcoming Jungle Cruise.”