What are the next adaptations of Roald Dahl’s work?

More than 30 years after his death, the imagination and world of the British author continue to fuel numerous adaptations in films and series.

Roald Dahl continues to fascinate. Directors and screenwriters continue to use his work to create various adaptations for cinema or on platforms, and the coming months will allow us to discover different stories from his imagination. Netflix has indeed just revealed the first image of the animated film The Two Rogues (The Twits), directed by Phil Johnston — co-director of Ralph 2.0 (2018) —, planned on the platform for 2025. The Two Rogues (1997) follows the misadventures of Compère Gredin and Commère Gredin, who hate each other as much as they love cooking children.

Netflix, holder of the rights to Dahl’s works

This new upcoming film follows the revealed trailer for Wes Anderson’s next short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugaralso scheduled for Netflix on September 27, and which will be followed by three other shorts: The Swan, Claude’s Dog And Venom.

Netflix in the spotlight regarding Roald Dahl? The streaming platform has in fact bought the Roald Dahl Story Company, manager of the author’s rights, in 2021 and promises several publishing projects, in films and series, but also in games and plays (three titles are planned for the boards, including an adaptation of The Huge Crocodile).

Among the first projects announced on the platform, an animated series adaptation of Charlie and the chocolate factory and of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevatorboth supervised by director Taika Waititi — Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Jojo Rabbit (2019) —. At the end of 2022, the platform was also released Maltida, the musicaladapted from one of the author’s most famous novels.

But cinema is not to be outdone when it comes to Roald Dahl and – above all – the chocolate factory! Next December, the highly anticipated Wonka will hit the screens, and will reveal the origins of the famous chocolatier, before Charlie, as he attempts to set up his business and revolutionize the chocolate industry. The musical film stars Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka and is directed by Paul King, known for Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017).

This new film centered around the eccentric character follows two films Charlie and the chocolate factory on the big screen: one with Gene Wilder in the title role in 1971, and the other in 2005 with Johnny Depp as Wonka. The chocolate universe remains the main source of adaptation of the author’s work, which is very relevant at the end of the year… and it’s clearly not about to stop!

All these adaptations are nevertheless placed in a particular context around the work of Roald Dahl. At the start of the year, the publisher with the rights in the United Kingdom announced that it was reissuing the author’s titles by modifying certain sentences to remove terms deemed offensive. A censorship which provoked strong reactions in the literary world. The publishing house finally indicated that it would continue to publish the original texts in a special collection. More than 30 years after his death, Roald Dahl continues to be talked about.