Fresh from the success of his recent cinematic hit, Asteroid City, contemporary film genius Wes Anderson surprises fans once again. Only months after its theatrical release, Anderson unveils the trailer for his upcoming Netflix short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a wealthy London bachelor, the new short is based on The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, the 1977 collection of stories by British author Roald Dahl. Anderson had previously tackled the writer’s work with his seminal 2009 stop-motion masterpiece, The Fantastic Mr Fox.
Several months after Asteroid City competed for the Palme d’Or in Cannes, Henry Sugar played at this year’s Venice Film Festival and received rapturous applause – as well as a four-minute standing ovation. Based on the real-life story of mystic Kuda Bux, Dahl’s Henry Sugar story depicts a gambler who attempts to learn meditation so that he may be able to see through his opponent’s cards.
With a 37-minute run-time, it marks the director’s shortest public release yet, boasting an immense cast of frequent Anderson collaborators and newcomers alike, including Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend, Dev Patel, Richard Aoyade and Ben Kingsley.
On his connection to the author, Anderson told IndieWire, “I knew Roald Dahl since before we made Fantastic Mr. Fox. I met Lindsay Dahl, his widow, when we were shooting The Royal Tenenbaums like 20 years ago. For years I wanted to do Henry Sugar. They set this story aside for me because I was friends with them.”
He continued, explaining how “Lindsay kind of handed the torch to Luke, Dahl’s grandson. So I had this waiting for me. But I really couldn’t figure out the approach. I knew what I liked in the story was the writing of it, Dahl’s words. I couldn’t find the answer, and then suddenly I did.”
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar will be released on Netflix on September 27th.
Watch the trailer below.
