Cinematographer Robert Yeoman wasn’t kidding when he said Wes Anderson was heading to England to shoot yet another film—his second production shot within the span of six months— because tonight, we have details on that film. According to Baz Bamigboye, one of the few certifiably reliable (and airtight) reporters at the otherwise often-dubious UK Daily Mail, who has been spot-on for a decade-plus, Wes Anderson’s next film is a Roald Dahl adaptation for Netflix starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
READ MORE: Wes Anderson Reportedly Ready To Begin Prepping Yet Another New Film In December
“#WesAnderson directs another @roald_dahl tale of the unexpected following his 2009 animated adaptation of Dahl’s Fantastic Mr.Fox. Dir will film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for @NetflixFilm with #BenedictCumberbatch as Sugar. Shoots in London v soon,” Bamigboye wrote.
“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More” is a collection of seven short stories written by Dahl in 1977 and they are generally regarded as being aimed at a slightly older audience than many of his other children’s books. In 1952 Dahl wrote an article about the famous Pakistani mystic Kuda Bux, who inspired the story. Here’s a long-form synopsis, but in short, it’s about a man who gains the power to see despite having sewn-shut eyes.
READ MORE: The Essentials: The Films Of Wes Anderson
“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” tells the story of Henry Sugar, a wealthy man with a penchant for gambling. One day, Henry discovers a doctor’s report which describes a strange patient from India who was able to see despite the fact that his eyes were shown completely shut by doctors. To that end, the man uses his strange abilities to conduct a very interesting – and incredibly lucrative – act for the circus.
After reading for a short amount of time, Henry discovers that the method by which the doctors “removed” the man’s sight. Henry conducts the procedure, and eventually gives himself the power to see despite his sewn-shut eyes.
With the help of his powers, Henry undergoes a series of charades designed to make him a tremendous amount of money. This is something which he succeeds in doing, but not without a significant cost.
Though one does have to wonder: could Anderson be doing another portmanteau story ala, “The French Dispatch” and doing all seven stories within? Regardless, Anderson is currently working at the fastest clip of his career currently, perhaps spurred on by the pandemic. In the summer he premiered “The French Dispatch” anthology movie at Cannes, then in the fall he shot “Asteroid City” with Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, and a few other Anderson regulars and now he’s off to London to shoot “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
This news comes right on the heels of Netflix’s big Roald Dahl announcement. Netflix acquired the iconic Roald Dahl Story Company in September of last year, owning the rights to every property within. Basically, if you want to make a Roald Dahl project, your only option doing it now is at Netflix. In fact, just yesterday, the company just posted a $36.7 million profit this year which means Netflix wisely bought a golden goose.
No other details on the project are available, including whether it’s live-action or animated given Anderson’s last Dahl project was 2009’s animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” But it sounds like a live-action film. Because Yeoman already said he’d been readying to prep on Anderson’s next film and has been the director of photography for every one of the filmmaker’s films, minus the animated ones (“Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Isle Of Dogs” were both shot by Tristan Oliver). File under more when we get it, but a live-action project is a safe bet here.
