Wes Anderson picks Netflix for his 37-minute short film 'Henry Sugar'

Wes Anderson's new Netflix film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, based on Roald Dahl's 1977 short story collection, will have a runtime of just 37 minutes.

This project marks Anderson's second adaptation of Dahl's work, following Fantastic Mr. Fox, and features an impressive cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, and Ben Kingsley.

Henry Sugar will be Anderson's first Netflix original, although he mentioned that collaborating with the streaming platform was more of a necessity rather than a personal preference.

In an interview with IndieWire, Anderson explained that he had been familiar with Roald Dahl since before making Fantastic Mr. Fox and had a longstanding desire to bring Henry Sugar to life.

However, it took time for him to figure out the approach for the story. Eventually, he found his answer, realizing that it wouldn't be a feature length film but rather a short film.

When he was ready to pursue the project, he discovered that the rights to Dahl's works had been acquired entirely by Netflix, leaving no other option for its production.

"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. But by the time I was ready to do it, the Dahl family no longer had the rights at all. They had sold the whole deal to Netflix.”

“It’s not quite the choice between a full-fledged cinema release and a streaming release because you would never distribute a short film like that and distribute it in cinemas,” Anderson said about his Henry Sugar adaptation.

“They’d have to sell cheaper tickets or do a double feature… I had only a good experience with Netflix, but I’m very happy to be putting ‘Asteroid City’ in cinemas. Focus and Universal are doing it the real cinema way. That’s the way I really want my movies to be shown.”

While Anderson enjoyed working with Netflix, he also stated a preference for  his movies being shown in cinemas, emphasizing his excitement for the theatrical release of his latest film, Asteroid City.

The film is set to open exclusively in theaters on June 16, while Henry Sugar is expected to debut on Netflix in the fall.

Originally published in 1977, Roald Dahl's Henry Sugar is a collection of seven short stories. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays the protagonist, Henry Sugar, in the titular story, which explores the moral dilemma of using a special ability for good or personal gain.