Gary Busey Imagined As An Army Of Willy Wonkas Is More Terrifying Than That Creepy Tunnel Scene

Gary Busey becomes an army of crazed Willy Wonkas in terrifying AI-generated art inspired by the new Timothée Chalamet Wonka prequel. Sprung from the mind of Roald Dahl, enigmatic candy-maker Wonka made his debut in 1964’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory brought the character to the big screen, with Gene Wilder giving an iconic performance. Tim Burton offered up his take on the character in 2005, with Johnny Depp in the role, and now in 2023, Chalamet is set to don Wonka’s hat in a musical prequel film.

Ahead of the highly-anticipated Wonka release date, another new version of the iconic candy man has been offered up using AI-generated art, with Oscar-nominated actor and reality star Busey cast as Wonka himself. Check out the terrifying images below (via hall0weent0wn_):

1971’s Wonka film was no stranger to creepiness, but nothing in that movie, even its iconic psychedelic tunnel scene, compares to the nightmarish sight of an army of Gary Wonkas wearing maniacal gape-mouthed expressions.

Gary Busey Might Have Been A Good Willy Wonka (At One Time)

He’s now largely known as a reality TV figure and walking punchline, but Busey was at one time an acclaimed actor, receiving an Oscar nomination for his lead performance in 1978’s The Buddy Holly Story. Had the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory been made ten years later than it was, when Busey was a name actor, it’s conceivable that he could have landed the lead role, and it’s possible that he would have turned in an amazing performance.

Wilder’s Wonka performance is acclaimed, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else being as good in the role. However, Busey in the time of The Buddy Holly Story had the acting chops to pull it off, though his performance would have by necessity been very different. Busey did not have Wilder’s unique combination of whimsicality and mania, but he did have a gruff quality that would fit the character, and he certainly had the ability to deliver his own brand of manic performance. The sight of Busey as Wonka is terrifying now, and the thought of him playing the character today is ridiculous, but there was a time when it would not have been inconceivable that he could have been cast in the role, and pulled it off.