It seems to me, from what I can see in the trailer, that he's trying to play a younger version of the Johnny Depp incarnation of Willie Wonka. That makes a certain amount of sense, if this movie in intended to be a prequel to the movie in which Johnny Depp played the role. I get the sense that this movie is meant to be contiguous with that one, so it makes sense to try to keep the character as consistent as they can.
I recall, at some point, seeing a list of other actors that had been considered beside Johnny Depp, and realizing that each of those actors would have brought a very different personality to the role, a very different take on it, just as Johnny Depp ultimately did compared to Gene Wilder.
They could make this movie with a different actor, putting his own take on the role, different than Johnny Depp's, different than Gene Wilder's, but what I see in the trailer seems to eschew that idea. I think this movie clearly means to depict the same incarnation of the character as the one played by Johnny Depp, but at a younger age.
