Richard Ayoade and Rupert Friend are the latest actors to join the cast of Wes Anderson’s next project, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. The film is based on a collection of short stories of the same name by famous British author, Roald Dahl. Netflix recently acquired the entirety of Dahl’s story catalog and, as a result of its solid relationship with the Dahl estate, holds the distribution rights for the film adaptation. The new project will see Anderson take the helm following his 2021 film, The French Dispatch, and the completion of his latest directorial outing, Asteroid City.
Now, it has been reported by Deadline that Homeland‘s Rupert Friend and The IT Crowd‘s Richard Ayoade will be the latest additions to join the ever-growing cast of Anderson’s next project. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More recently added the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, and Ben Kingsley. While the book consists of seven short stories in total, it is unclear as to how many, or which of them, the film will cover, with Netflix refusing to comment on the project so far. Production on the film is expected to begin in London next week, with further inclusions to the cast expected as filming progresses.
The film marks Hitman: Agent 47 actor Friend’s second collaboration with the American director, following The French Dispatch where he plays a drill sergeant. Meanwhile, Ayoade will be reunited with Doctor Strange star Cumberbatch after their joint venture on Amazon’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. With the release date of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More expected to be late 2022, the addition of these major stars is set to boost their reputations even further, with Friend’s involvement in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series and Ayoade’s Dreamworks animated feature The Bad Guys adding to the promise of a bright year ahead for the actors.
