Wes Anderson’s ‘The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar’ Adds Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel And Ben Kingsley

It was announced recently that Wes Anderson would be once again returning to the works of Roald Dahl as he directs an adaptation of the British author’s classic The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar with Benedict Cumberbatch set to star as the titular character. Now, Deadline is confirming with insider sources that the ensemble cast that will be joining Cumberbatch includes Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, and Ben Kingsley.

This will mark the second time that Fiennes will be working with Anderson as he had a starring role in his Oscar-winning 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel as Monsieur Gustave. Many Harry Potter fans might also recognize him as the Dark Lord himself, Voldemort. Patel, on the other hand, will be teaming up with Anderson for the first time in this picture, though it’s clear why the stylistic director would seek the actor out after his fantastic performance as Sir Gawain in A24’s The Green Knight that released in July 2021. Kingsley is also a newcomer in terms of Anderson’s works, but has most recently appeared in the MCU reprising his role as Trevor Slattery in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a collection of short stories that sees Sugar, a man who gains the ability to see through objects and even into the future, goes on many misadventures thanks to this ability ranging from being on the run from the Mafia to starting an Orphanage.

RELATED: Wes Anderson to Direct Roald Dahl’s ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,’ Starring Benedict Cumberbatch

This adaptation comes after Netflix acquired the rights to the entire Dahl catalog back in September, which has also seen the streaming service also developing new adaptations of some of his most popular works including a series that takes place in the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Taika Waititi and Phil Johnston working on the project as well as an adaptation of Matilda The Musical from Sony and Working Title.

This is the second time that Anderson will be directing an adaptation of a Dahl classic as he also directed 2009’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox which saw the director add stop motion to his repertoire and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards including “Best Animated Feature.” Cumberbatch has been busy this last year with more still on the horizon for the actor as he has received heavy praise for his starring role in Jane Campion‘s Western drama The Power of the Dog (which has even seen discussion of scoring him some nominations come award season) as well as having a pivotal role in the recently released and highly successful Spider-Man: No Way Home as Doctor Strange. He is also set to star in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releasing later this year in May.

There is no timetable as to when we can expect to see more from the upcoming film, but with Anderson’s signature style and a powerhouse cast behind, it is definitely something to keep an eye out for.

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