Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade
Production Company: American Empirical Pictures, Netflix Studios
Kent Locations Used: Maidstone Studios, Powerhub
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Poison, The Rat Catcher and The Swan (2023) are a selection of short films based on The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl.
Directed by Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel), the films star Benedict Cumberbatch (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), Doctor Strange (2016)), Ralph Fiennes (Holmes & Watson (2018), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)), Rupert Friend (The Death of Stalin, Hitman: Agent 47), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, Lion) and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, Submarine).
The shorts were filmed at The Maidstone Studios almost in their entirety, with set and prop construction taking part in nearby Kent locations. The hospital set in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) was filmed at the nearby Powerhub.
Just 45 minutes from London, Maidstone Studios is the UK’s largest independent studios. They are classed as a regional studio facility and have been home to some of the industry’s best-loved television programmes over the years. Most recently, it played host to Season 2 of This Time With Alan Partridge (2021), Series 2 of The Split (2020) and Series 2 and 3 of Hetty Feather (2015-2020).
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Poison, The Rat Catcher and The Swan (2023) were released on Netflix on Wednesday 27th September 2023.
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.