Netflix’s ‘Wonka’ reality show will use the AI-generated voice of Gene Wilder

Netflix has announced a new reality competition show based on the beloved movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and the novel it is based on. The company is also using AI to recreate the voice of late actor Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka in the 1971 film.

And people are crazy.

Wonka The Golden Ticket (no, that’s not a typo) will feature 12 pairs competing in a series of Wonka-themed challenges and “trials,” designed to push contestants “physically, mentally, and morally.” Judging by the trailer, the duos won’t be as lucky as the golden-ticket kids accompanied by adults with limited responsibility like in Roald Dahl’s 1964 story. Instead, older ticket holders with equally old friends will enter Wonka’s candy emporium, which has more sinister vibes than inspiration.

Interestingly, Netflix says only one will win Wonka The Golden Ticket‘s “life-changing prize,” which raises questions about how ticket winners’ plus-ones factor in. Considering that Netflix describes the series as “the ultimate social experiment,” it seems possible that a betrayal could be in the cards.

The staff of Netflix’s delicious chocolate factory will include Oompa Loompa from Mel Stuart’s classic film: English actor Rusty Goffe. However, the Netflix series will also feature the AI ​​voice of Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka. Wilder died in 2016 at the age of 83 from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Netflix worked with AI company ElevenLabs to digitally recreate Wilder’s voice Wonka The Golden Ticketwhich can be heard in the trailer for the series:

The project, according to Netflix, has the blessing of Wilder’s estate, Wilder’s wife Karen said. Wonka The Golden Ticket “You celebrate the warmth and imagination he brings to the role.” However, using AI to resurrect digitally deceased characters has not been well-received in the past, whether their family or estate approves.

Earlier this year, the upcoming film Deep as a grave made headlines by using a completely AI-generated deepfake of deceased actor Val Kilmer in a prominent role. Kilmer died of pneumonia at the age of 65 in April last year. Although his children acknowledged the film’s use of Kilmer’s reputation, the reaction on the Internet was extremely negative, with some calling it “disgusting and disrespectful.”

Alien: Romulus and faced a setback in 2024 by using artificial AI and production effects to bring the late Sir Ian Holm back to the Alien franchise. Mashable’s Belen Edwards wrote at the time, “the score remains deep in the uncanny valley,” noting other films that brought back dead characters: Flash (Christopher Reeve’s Superman) and Rogue One (Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin).

“Regardless of what permissions the estate may grant, the late actor will not consent to the use of his likeness in a movie,” Edwards wrote. “To do that is an instant abuse of their humanity. In reviving them on screen, you’re creating a movie they might never have agreed to make, with acting choices they might never have made.”

Reaction to Wonka The Golden Ticket using Wilder’s AI-generated vocal likeness has also drawn criticism, with social media users calling it “digital necromancy.”

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During his lifetime, Kilmer had worked on a separate project with the UK company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old writings. However, rather than being completely controlled by others, this was due to his use after losing his voice due to throat cancer.

Wonka The Golden Ticket will premiere on September 23rd on Netflix.