Netflix Brings Back Gene Wilder’s Voice Through AI for New Willy Wonka Competition Series

Netflix opened the gates to its chocolate factory today, and the first voice you hear coming from inside belongs to a man who passed away nearly a decade ago. The streamer unveiled the teaser for Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, a new reality competition series inspired by Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the beloved 1971 film, and the moment everyone is talking about is the host. Gene Wilder, who defined Willy Wonka for generations, returns to the role through an AI recreation of his voice. The series premieres September 23, with a two-part finale landing September 30.

If you came up loving that 1971 movie, the first listen is going to do something strange to you. In the teaser, contestants gather and cheer outside the factory gates as Wilder’s Wonka tells them, for the first time in decades, he is opening his beloved chocolate factory. The familiar rivers of chocolate appear, the wonder is exactly where you left it, and then that voice gently warns that some players will be saying a most unfortunate goodbye. It is unmistakably him, right down to the cadence, which is the whole point and also the entire conversation.

Here is how it came together. Netflix and Eureka Productions worked with ElevenLabs, the AI audio company that has recently recreated Michael Caine’s voice for an audiobook of The Odyssey and partnered with the Stan Lee estate on similar work, to rebuild Wilder’s voice for the show. Crucially, the Wilder estate signed off on it. Karen B. Wilder, Gene’s widow, gave her approval and released a statement on behalf of the estate, saying that more than five decades after Gene brought Willy Wonka to life, people of all ages still find joy and inspiration in his performance, and that The Golden Ticket celebrates the warmth and imagination he brought to the role while introducing that magic to a new generation and honoring the fans who have cherished it for decades.

That consent is the part worth sitting with, because the use of AI to revive a late actor’s voice is exactly the kind of thing that tends to spark a fierce reaction, and this one already has. Some longtime fans hearing the teaser have recoiled at the idea on principle, feeling that a performance this personal should not be regenerated by software no matter who approves it. Others will land on the side of the estate, who knew Wilder best and chose to lend his voice to a project built around the character he loved. Both responses are coming from the same place, which is how much that performance meant to people in the first place. There is no neutral way to bring back a voice this iconic, and Netflix clearly knows it.

As for the show itself, it is a proper competition. Twelve Golden Ticket winners, each bringing a partner of their choosing, step through the factory gates and into a series of games, tests, and temptations designed to challenge them physically, mentally, and morally. Netflix is framing it as a high-stakes social experiment where players navigate the factory’s unpredictable landscape, with only one contestant ultimately walking away with what the streamer is calling a life-changing prize. The first seven episodes drop on September 23, the finale arrives a week later, and there is one more nostalgic touch on top of the Wilder recreation: Rusty Goffe, who played an Oompa Loompa in the 1971 film, is reprising the role here. Production took place on the Gold Coast in Australia, and the series joins a Netflix reality roster that already includes Love Is Blind, The Circle, and Squid Game: The Challenge.

The teaser is below. Whatever side of the AI question you fall on, the factory doors are open again, and the voice inviting you in is one a lot of us never expected to hear say anything new.