This Bong Joon-Ho Sci-Fi Is a Long-Lost Sequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Fans Say
The crazy theory that in our humble opinion is 99.9% true. When it comes to Bong Joon-ho works, there's always more than meets the eye.
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho has always been a master of surprise, we know it. His movies consistently challenge our expectations and leave us questioning everything we thought we knew. A good suspense and a smart plot are two certain things you can expect going in one of Bong's movies.
Yet today we're diving into the most outrageous and likely a very true theory that makes Bong's mind an even bigger mystery than it was before.
We're talking about the possibility that Snowpiercer, his 2013 post-apocalyptic thriller about a train carrying the last survivors of humanity, could actually be a direct sequel to the beloved 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
How is that even possible, you may ask? Well, let's figure this together.
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Snowpiercer got us hooked by its brutal story of class warfare on an always-moving train. Little did we know we might have been watching the continuation of Charlie Bucket's story.
The connection was first spotted by YouTube channel Rhino Stew, who noticed something very odd:
“Most interesting of all, both of these stories thematically examine sacrifice, choice, and free will.”
This theory opened parallels that are impossible to ignore. Let's break this down.
Most importantly, both stories feature a genius inventor who's created a totally isolated world. Wonka's got his chocolate factory, Wilford's got his eternal engine. And both of these guys are total control freaks who are weirdly obsessed with their creations. What if Wilford is Charlie who got his obsession from his old friend?
Now stick with us because that's more likely than you think it is.
Wilford, the mysterious engineer, bears striking similarities to what Charlie Bucket might become after years of running the chocolate factory. And the train itself mirrors Wonka's factory in countless ways. There's Ws all over the place, machines that need to be operated by small hands (Oompa-Loompas, remember?), and both stories feature oddly similar transportation systems. Wonka's got that crazy boat ride through the chocolate river tunnel, while Snowpiercer's train is basically one long, twisted journey through a frozen apocalypse.
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Bong Joon-ho loves social commentary and Snowpiercer was no exception. On the contrary, if this theory proves to be true (which is very likely), then this is a great hint of how much has changed since 1971. The world is dying and people are getting more cruel (look at Charlie who became Wilford).
However, Rhino Stew concluded on a more optimistic note, saying:
“I don't think this theory ruins the end of Willy Wonka by having Charlie turn evil. When you think about it, both movies end with a hug and with a notion that the children are really the ones that will carry on the future for us.”
And we gotta agree, Snowpiercer (and the world in general) is way more nuanced than labelling it as good or bad. And that's another social commentary from Bong for you.
Your Next Movie Marathon Is Here and It Couldn’t Get More Interesting Than That
The internet has welcomed this theory with great enthusiasm. Redditor NealKenneth wrote:
“Lots of evidence, so much so that I do believe the director/screenwriter did this purposefully. Too many coincidences to be anything else!”
You have to judge this for yourself. Both films are available on Amazon Video and Apple TV+. Watch them back-to-back and you might find yourself spotting some connections.
