Renowned filmmaker Wes Anderson recently revealed in an interview with IndieWire that his latest project, titled “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” will be a 37-minute film. This Netflix production is Anderson’s second adaptation of a Roald Dahl work, following the success of “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” The star-studded cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, and Ben Kingsley, adding further anticipation to the project. Notably, “Henry Sugar” marks Anderson’s debut as a Netflix original creator, a decision he attributed more to practical reasons than personal preference.
Reflecting on his collaboration with Netflix, Anderson shared, “In my case, it’s a bit of an unusual situation. I had known Roald Dahl even before we worked on ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox.’ About two decades ago, during the filming of ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ I had the opportunity to meet Lindsay Dahl, his widow. Over the years, I had been keen on adapting ‘Henry Sugar,’ a story they had reserved for me due to our friendship. Eventually, Lindsay passed the baton to Luke, Dahl’s grandson. This project had been waiting for me, but I struggled to find the right approach. What captivated me about the story was Dahl’s writing. Eventually, I discovered the answer, realizing it wasn’t meant to be a feature film—it ended up being around 37 minutes. However, by the time I was ready, the Dahl family no longer held the rights. They had sold the entire project to Netflix.”