Netflix signs Taika Waititi to direct Willy Wonka and Oompa Loompa TV shows

Streaming service will also adapt several other Roald Dahl books

Taika Waititi will write and direct two Roald Dahl animated series for Netflix.

The Jojo Rabbit filmmaker is set to oversee an adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a separate, original story centred on the Oompa-Loompas.

Announcing the news on Twitter, Netflix UK & Ireland wrote: "Very Exciting Thing: Taika Waititi will write and direct Netflix's first ~two~ Roald Dahl animated series events".

"These two series are just the beginning", the streaming service added. "Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, and many other beloved Dahl stories are set to follow soon!"

In Dahl's classic children's tale, the Oompa-Loompas are the diminutive, orange-skinned factory workers employed by eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.

Waititi won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in February, for his World War II satire Jojo Rabbit.

The popular New Zealand-born director has worked in television before, on series including HBO's offbeat comedy Flight of the Conchords and the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.