Turns out Willy's Chocolate Experience legacy won't just be an AI-laden artistic crap shoot after all because the "Fyre Fest for kids'" most bizarre original character, the Unknown, is getting their own horror movie, according to Bloody Disgusting.
Last week, social media couldn't help virtually rubber-necking at Willy's Chocolate Experience after candid photos of the Glasgow, Scotland, emerged online. The miserable event, which charged its attendees £35-a-ticket (roughly $45), was cut short after frustrated attendees called the police and demanded full refunds. While parents in attendance were rightfully upset at the event not manifesting as advertised, folks online were fast at work celebrating the event's actors — who were given a 15-page AI-generated script — with a cavalcade of hilarious memes and fan art.
what is that? pic.twitter.com/AOYvLEnsvb
— violet! (@violxiv) March 2, 2024
At the epicenter of the viral craze was The Unknown, "an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls" whose unsettling Doctor Doom-esque mask and gangly mirror-holding mannerisms caused adults to chuckle and frightened children to tears. The social media icon's weird vibe was captivating enough to convince Kaledonia Pictures, a Scotland-based production company, to announce it is working on a horror movie called The Unknown.
"The film, gearing up for production and a late 2024 release, follows a renowned illustrator and his wife who are haunted by the tragic death of their son, Charlie. Desperate to escape their grief, the couple leave the world behind for the remote Scottish Highlands — where an unknowable evil awaits them," Kaledonia Pictures told Bloody Disgusting. "We are excited to begin production and look forward to sharing more with you as soon as possible. We are actually only a few miles from the event, so it is quite surreal to see Glasgow all over social media, worldwide."
@felicia.wishes follow for face reveal tomoz ?(plus proof x) #wonkaexperience #theunknown #willywonka #willywonkaexperience #willywonkatiktok #maskedman #therealunknown ♬ original sound - fel?
One can only hope that the upcoming horror film will do the right thing by casting Felicia, the 16-year-old actress behind The Unknown to reprise her role as the internet's new favorite cryptid. Since the disastrous event went viral, Felicia has taken to social media to share her bonkers behind-the-scenes Willy experience as well as a scrapped fight scene between The Unknown and the legally distinct Willy Wonka.
"At the end of the actual whole script itself, there was supposed to be a fight scene between The Unknown and Willy Wonka but that got scrapped because there was meant to be a giant hoover that sucked The Unknown up. Obviously there was no hoover," Felicia said. "One of the organizer told us 'Just improv it, just do what you want' and me and the Willy Wonka were like 'How can we do whatever we want for that?'
"Because there was only one Unknown, which was me, I had to kind of stay in my spot the whole time and couldn't move about and do thfight scenes because of differnt time and all that so it just wasn't gonna work."
Time will tell whether Kaledonia Pictures will salvage The Unknown's makeshift climactic finale or leave it on the cutting room floor when the film releases later this year.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
