Wes Anderson to Direct Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar with Benedict Cumberbatch

It’s always news when Wes Anderson is attached to an exciting new project, and when that project is another Roald Dahl adaptation, the news can’t help but brim with a sense of whimsy. The director’s well-loved 2009 film The Fantastic Mr. Fox was an adaptation of a lesser-known Dahl work, and the director now seems to have lined up more of the same, as it’s being reported he will take on an adaptation of Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for Netflix. Not only that, but he’ll be doing it with a top-tier lead actor in the form of The Power of the Dog star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Anderson has kept right on garnering plaudits for his signature visual iconoclasm and perfectly structured filmmaking, which he’s been practicing ever since 1996’s Bottle Rocket. His recent The French Dispatch has been hailed as another classic, and will no doubt be up for a bevy of Oscar nominations soon. Cumberbatch, meanwhile, has also garnered plenty of Oscar buzz for his performance in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog on Netflix, and he simultaneously maintained his blockbuster status with a high-profile continuation of his role as Dr. Strange in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, meanwhile, is a 1977 collection of six short stories from Roald Dahl, published at a variety of different times. The stories are a mixed bag of different themes and characters, often considered a bit more “adult” than the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and include such stories as an autobiographical account of how Dahl became a writer. The title story, though, is likely to make up the majority of the film and details how a man named Henry Sugar learns a technique to use magic to influence the world around him.

There’s no indication yet of who might star alongside Cumberbatch, but one has to think that Anderson will probably make room for all of his usual faces, whether the film is ultimately live-action or animated. You know the names: Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and more can all probably be expected to pop up at some point.

We’ll bring you more information on Anderson’s latest as soon as it breaks.