• Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show will return to filming live episodes in front of a vaccinated studio audience in New York's Ed Sullivan Theater on June 14, CBS said Monday. Colbert did his first show remotely on March 16, 2020, with a monologue taped from his bathtub at home. The show went on to produce 205 episodes without a live audience in more than a year because of the covid-19 outbreak. Colbert, 57, has lately been doing his shows using a small set at the Ed Sullivan theater. With the return to live audience, about 400 people will be allowed into the theater on Broadway in Manhattan provided they can show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, such as through the Excelsior Pass issued by the state of New York or an original physical vaccination card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There will be no capacity restrictions, and masks will be optional. CBS said staff and crew members will be tested for the virus before starting work and will be screened daily for symptoms, monitored by a covid-19 compliance officer. The network said the plan comports with state guidelines. "Over the last 437 days, my staff and crew (and family!) have amazed me with their professionalism and creativity as we made shows for an audience we couldn't see or hear," Colbert said in a statement included in CBS' announcement Monday. "I look forward to once again doing shows for an audience I can smell and touch."
• Timothee Chalamet will play Willy Wonka in a musical based on the early life of Roald Dahl's eccentric chocolatier. Warner Bros. and the Roald Dahl Story Co. announced Monday that the 25-year-old Chalamet will star in "Wonka." The studio said the film will "focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world's most famous chocolate factory." Paul King ("Paddington," "Paddington 2") will direct from a script he wrote with Simon Farnaby, with "Harry Potter" producer David Heyman producing. Warner Bros. earlier this year set a release date in March 2023. Gene Wilder starred in 1971's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," based on Dahl's celebrated book. In Tim Burton's 2005 reboot, Johnny Depp played Wonka in a Warner Bros. release that grossed $475 million worldwide. Taika Waititi ("Jojo Rabbit," "Thor: Ragnarok") is separately making a pair of animated series for Netflix, one centered on the world of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and one based on the Oompa-Loopmas. Chalamet, the Oscar-nominated star of Luca Guadagnino's "Call Me By Your Name," has a number of high-profile projects in the works, including Denis Villenueve's "Dune," Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch," Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up" and Guadagnino's "Bones & All."