Well, it was never really in doubt. Still, now it’s 200% official, Wes Anderson’s next next film, the one happening after “Asteroid City” with Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johannsson, and Margot Robbie, is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short story collection, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More,” for Netflix. And yes, Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power Of The Dog”) will star, but there’s much more.
Realizing the cat’s been let out of the bag, Netflix has confirmed to various trades what we already know and has added more of the cast to the lot. The film will also feature Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley. That’s three new actors to the Wes Anderson troupe, Fiennes previously having starred in the filmmaker’s 2014 film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” As the aforementioned “Asteroid City” line-up already suggests, Anderson is branching out and using a lot of new actors these days. That said, regular folks like Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, and more are already in that picture, and it’s more than likely they’ll appear in “The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar” as well.
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Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in fall 2021 in a blockbuster deal, and they are clearly putting all its IP to work. Anderson is already well versed in the world of Dahl, having previously adapted “Fantastic Mr. Fox” as a stop-motion feature in 2009.
One of the main things THR reveals is that yes, ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ will be something of an anthology film much like, “The French Dispatch,” which featured four (or five, if you want to count them all), short stories within the greater film. While who plays who is unknown, THR says, “Cumberbatch will not only play Sugar but will also act as a thread through the other stories by playing multiple roles throughout.” Deadline adds that the adaptation will “consist of three mini-films similar to the Coen brothers’ “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” so it sounds like Anderson has fallen in love with the portmanteau film model, so maybe that will be a big trend in his future.
No other cast has been added, but definitely look for names like Murray, Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Anderson regulars to pop up in the cast undoubtedly.