Gene Wilder Will Be the Subject of a New Biopic From Dito Montiel

A new biopic is in the works centered on beloved actor and writer Gene Wilder. Deadline reports that director Dito Montiel will helm the project after obtaining the rights to the Estate of the late actor.

Wilder is best known for his turn as the titular chocolatier in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and his many collaborations with Mel Brooks. The movie will take a look at Wilder’s rise to prominence in entertainment, beginning with his career in the theater before gaining fame for his unique comedic voice on screen.

Montiel has penned the screenplay with Jeremy Roth, whose writing has been featured on Love, Victor, and How I Met Your Father. Montiel’s previous projects include The Clapper, Critical Thinking (as writer), and 2014’s Boulevard, which marked one of the final onscreen performances of Robin Williams. His most recent directorial outing was the 2024 crime comedy, Riff Raff.

“Gene Wilder was one of those rare people who was somehow funnier and sadder than everyone else in the room at the same time. That’s not a character. That’s a life,” said Montiel in a statement.

Aimee Schoof, Isen Robbins, and Megan Freels Johnston are producing for Intrinsic Value Films with Josh Kesselman of Mgmt Entertainment.

A prolific actor and writer, Wilder appeared in many film projects throughout the 70s and 80s, often directing and writing as well. Early in his career, Wilder appeared in Off-Broadway’s Roots and The Complaisant Lover on Broadway. He went on to star in Broadway’s Mother Courage and Her Children, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The White House, and Luv.

His film debut came in 1967 with Bonnie and Clyde. In Mel Brooks’ The Producers, he played “Leopold Bloom” opposite Zero Mostel as “Max Bialystock,” receiving his first Academy Award nomination. His second came in 1974’s Young Frankenstein as a co-writer alongside Brooks. Both of these films would go on to become Broadway musicals.