Director Wes Anderson and actor Benedict Cumberbatch have signed on to create and star in a new Roald Dahl adaptation for Netflix.
Anderson is set to direct a revamp of Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar while Cumberbatch is tipped to play the protagonist, according to widespread media reports.
Netflix bought the rights to the British author’s full catalogue in September, opening the door to a variety of exclusive spin-offs involving many of the beloved characters from Dahl’s work.
The adaptation will mark the second time that Anderson has brought a Roald Dahl story to life on the big screen.
In 2009, he released the stop-motion animation film Fantastic Mr Fox.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar was one of seven short stories published in a single collection in 1977. Dahl aimed it at a slightly older audience than his children’s books.
The story follows the life of a gambling addict who studies meditation to read cards and uses the winnings to open several orphanages.
Additional reports suggest an all-star Hollywood cast will join Cumberbatch on screen, with Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel and Ralph Fiennes all slated to appear alongside him.
Deadline also reports the film will incorporate other stories from the 1977 collection, which consists of The Boy Who Talked with Animals, The Hitch-Hiker, The Mildenhall Treasure, The Swan, Lucky Break and A Piece of Cake.
“Sources do say it would consist of three mini-films similar to the Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Deadline said.
Henry Sugar, the mainstay story of the anthology, is just one of the upcoming Netflix projects focused on Dahl’s catalogue after its $US300 million ($418 million) purchase.
When Netflix announced it had bought the Roald Dahl Story Company in September, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi and Academy Award nominee Phil Johnston were revealed to be “hard at work” on a TV series based on the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
An adaptation of Matilda The Musical was also announced after the acquisition.
Anderson’s previous Dahl rework Fantastic Mr Fox, featuring George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Willem Dafoe, was released in 2009 and was nominated for two Oscars, Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Score in 2010.
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