Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (lost unreleased Michael Jackson soundtrack for Tim Burton film; 2005)

Poster for the 2005 adaptation film

Status: Lost

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is a 2005 adaptation for the 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. But during the production for the film, Michael Jackson created a soundtrack for the film but never gave it to the production team because he didn’t get the Willy Wonka role, becoming shelved and lost to the public

Background

In early 2003, during the production of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. A director was still being sought for before Tim Burton was found, various actors were considered the role of Willy Wonka before Johnny Depp was given the role. Some of these actors were[1]:

Bill Murray
Christopher Walken
Steve Martin
Robin Williams
Nicolas Cage
Jim Carrey
Michael Keaton
Robert De Niro
Brad Pitt
Will Smith
Mike Myer
Ben Stiller
Leslie Nielsen
three members of Monty Python (John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin)
Patrick Stewart
Adam Sandler

Though he was never approached or discussed for the role, Michael Jackson actively sought the role and made a soundtrack at a small studio in Los Angeles[2][3]

While Michael Jackson's life is a perpetual source of controversy, songwriter, singer, and entertainer. He had one thing he wanted to seek for. He wanted to become a movie star. Owing his distinctive appearance and persona, he continued to pursue his dream into acting, even taking acting lessons from his friend, Marlon Brando.[4] [5]

Michael Jackson then presented the soundtrack to Warner Bros. along with the offer for the role. Even though they liked the soundtrack, they didn’t thought it was a good idea to give Jackson a leading role in a kids film (possible reason is the CSA allegations contributed to this). They offered a smaller role for Jackson but he wouldn’t budge, it was Wonka or not. And when Michael Jackson was denied the role, he went nuts and stated: