Award-winning actor Dev Patel will soon be seen in visionary director Wes Anderson’s next directorial venture, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which is set to premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival in September 2023.
The upcoming production, which will be an anthology film with a duration of 37 minutes, is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s story from the 1977 collection known as The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.
Anderson has long been interested in adapting the collection of short stories. He has previously told a publication, “For years, I wanted to do Henry Sugar.”
The director had met Lindsay Dahl, the widow of the celebrated author, while he was shooting The Royal Tenebaums decades ago. “They set this story aside for me because I was friends with them,” he said. “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. It’s not a feature film. It’s like 37 minutes or something.”
The official storyline of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar reads: “Chronicles a variety of stories but the main one follows Henry Sugar, who is able to see through objects and predict the future with the help of a book he stole.”
Aside from Patel, the upcoming short film will also feature Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend, and Richard Ayoade in important roles.
Following its premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival in September, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar will land on Netflix on October 13.
Stay tuned to this space for more updates!
Sandhya Suri poses during a photocall for the film "Santosh" at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2024. 