In an effort to boost its output of original movies, Netflix is teaming up with renowned filmmaker Wes Anderson to produce The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, an adaptation of Ronald Dahl’s short story collection of the same name. The movie is set to have a star-studded cast with Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes and Dev Patel already on board.
The movie is written and will be directed by seven-time Oscar nominee Wes Anderson himself, who just recently released The French Dispatch. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar will be his second adaptation of Dahl after his 2009 movie Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is the first Dahl project at Netflix after the streamer acquired the Ronald Dahl Story Company in fall 2021, gaining rights to adapt the author’s entire catalog.
It’s worth noting that Netflix hasn’t officially announced this project as of yet. It first came to light via Baz Bamigboye who works for the DailyMail.
#WesAnderson directs another @roald_dahl tale of the unexpected following his 2009 animated adaptation of Dahl’s Fantastic https://t.co/0VcurohRbS. Dir will film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for @NetflixFilm with #BenedictCumberbatch as Sugar.Shoots in London v soon. pic.twitter.com/WRFm7ejLpz
— Baz Bamigboye 💙 (@BazBam) January 6, 2022
What’s the plot of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar?
As mentioned above, the movie will be based on Ronald Dahl short story collection called The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More that was published in 1982. As the title suggests there are seven short stories in it.
The title story centers on Henry Sugar, a man who steals a book that shows him how to see through objects and predict the future. This touches off a series of misadventures that involve evading Mafia henchmen, working with a Hollywood makeup artist to craft new identities and setting up orphanages around the world.
Another one is The Boy Who Talked With Animals – in which a stranded sea turtle and a small boy have more in common than meets the eye. The Hitchhiker proves that in a pinch a professional pickpocket can be the perfect pal. The Mildenhall Treasure – a true tale of fortune found and an opportunity lost. The Swan is a short story about the boys Ernie and his friend Raymond, who like to bully Peter Watson.
Two more stories, Lucky Break and A Piece of Cake are nonfictional and tell about two different parts of author Ronald Dahl’s life.
Who is cast in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar?
It has been revealed that Benedict Cumberbatch will lead The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for Netflix. He will be playing the titular Henry Sugar as well as some other characters, thus acting a link between his and other short stories throughout the movie. Cumberbatch’s recent work includes Netflix’s Power of the Dog that is promised at least an Oscar nomination by many as well as the megahit Spider-Man: No Way Home. He will reprise his Marvel role in May 2022 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Cumberbatch will be joined by in this project by Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley. Patel can be seen in the acclaimed 2021 film The Green Kinght, while Fiennes’s recent works include Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond No Time to Die as well as the Kingsman prequel called The King’s Man. Oscar-winner Kingsley can be seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
What’s the production status of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, production for the movie will start in January 2022 in the UK.
What’s the Netflix release date for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar?
Netflix hasn’t set a release date for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, but considering the January start date, we would assume a 2023 release date.