Benedict Cumberbatch brings Roald Dahl tale to life in Wes Anderson film trailer

Benedict Cumberbatch (Ian West/PA)

The official trailer for Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar has been released with Benedict Cumberbatch in the starring role.

Cumberbatch, 47, appears as Henry Sugar, a man who sets out to learn a guru’s skill to see without using his eyes, to help him cheat at gambling.

The trailer, released by Netflix on Thursday, opens with a shot of Cumberbatch walking into a blue and white room filled with geometric shapes.

A voice then says: “Henry Sugar was 41 years old, unmarried and rich.”

The screen switches to a shot of a book which says on it: “A report on Imdad Khan”.

Henry takes over from the voice and says: “Strange. The following is what Henry read in the little blue exercise book.”

Following this, a clip shows Imdad, played by Sir Ben Kingsley, putting on a plaster cast over his head as he says: “Gentlemen, I’m a man who can see without using his eyes.”

Henry then reveals that “an extraordinary thing happened”, and says: “Henry was now almost certainly capable of making money faster than any other person in the entire world.”

The trailer ends with Henry throwing money into the air as Dahl, played by The Menu actor Ralph Fiennes, says: “His name was Henry Sugar.

Wes Anderson (Doug Peters/PA)

“I think people ought to know a bit about what he has done for the world.”

The shots in the trailer focus on visual symmetry and depict Henry clothed in different suits in front of a variety of backdrops as he speaks to the camera.

Joining Cumberbatch, Sir Ben and Fiennes in the film are Skins actor Dev Patel and The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade.

The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier in the month and the film can be streamed on Netflix from September 27.