Since the beginning of 2020, Hollywood has been in an incredibly weird place as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic that it is still trying to recover from. Forcing virtually every production studio to halt operations for months on end and shutting movie theaters down for even longer, the infectious virus has played an integral role in shaping the future of television and film that likely won’t be fully understood for many years to come. A lot of people are employed in Hollywood however, and, as the saying goes, the show must go on. As we have begun to return to a sense of normalcy amongst society the film industry’s biggest names are back and better than ever with a plethora of new projects that are sure to excite fans, with one project in particular appearing especially interesting. Revered director Wes Anderson and actor Benedict Cumberbatch are set to join forces for their latest project that is right up both men’s respective alleys in a Netflix adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1970’s book The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
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Released in 1977, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, the latter part truncated for the film’s sake, consists of six uniquely interesting short stories that may seemingly shed some light on Dahl’s personal life experiences. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar in particular deals with a wealthy man who learns of some supernatural powers discerned by a man in India before letting greed get the best of him and stealing the knowledge for his own personal gain. In hindsight however, Sugar realizes the errors of his ways and works tooth and nail until the day he passes to return his newfound earnings to charitable causes that need them most. Introspective and reflective, the story still resonates today as capitalism is stronger than ever before, and now Anderson and Cumberbatch will be bringing the story to life. Netflix acquired the rights to Dahl’s lengthy and impressive catalogue of work in September of last year and it looks like The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar will be the first project to arise from this deal.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn’t been all that long since moviegoers got the chance to relish in the work of either Anderson or Cumberbatch. Last year Anderson released his critically acclaimed film The French Dispatch that was met with rave reviews, while Cumberbatch recently reprised his role as Doctor Strange for the latest Spider-Man project Spider-Man: No Way Home which premiered in theaters last month. Anderson is no stranger to Roald Dahl either, previously adapting his work in the 2009 animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox which is considered an integral piece of the filmmakers resume. Now we will get the chance to see these two talented men join forces in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar once the new venture eventually makes its way onto Netflix.
