Following his Netflix release, ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ which is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More’, Benedict Cumberbatch will reportedly star in another book adaptation titled, ‘The Thing with Feathers’. The source book for the upcoming adaptation is Max Porter’s novel ‘Grief is the Thing With Feathers’ which focuses two sons who alongside their father grieve the sudden loss of their mother. When they are visited by a suspicious being called ‘Crow’, seemingly brought to life from the father’s work as an illustrator, who “threatens to stay until they no longer need him”, they surprisingly journey towards healing with the help of the being who constantly accompanies the family. Benedict Cumberbatch will most likely play the role of the father in the upcoming feature film.
‘Grief is the Thing With Feathers’, which was released in 2015, was listed in the ‘Sunday Times’ top ‘100 Novel of the Twenty-First Century’ and dealt with themes of emotional truths, closure and loss all the while instilling humor and empathy through its fable-like narrative style. In the upcoming adaptation, the screenplay will be written by Dylan Southern with producers Andrea Cornwell, Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke joining the crew.
Details on the Crew Behind ‘The Thing with Feathers’
Benedict Cumberbatch is a versatile actor whose acting prowess truly shines in his works, ‘The Imitation Game’, ‘Sherlock’ (TV series), Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’ film series and many more. Dylan Southern will also serve as the director for ‘The Thing with Feathers’. Dylan Southern is known for several of his works such as ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’, ‘Shut Up and Play the Hits’ and ‘Blur No Distance Left to Run’, all of which are music documentaries. He is also a nominee of several accolades including the Grammy Award.
Though not much is known regarding the premiere of the film, ‘The Thing with Feathers’ will be developed under SunnyMarch Productions, a UK based production company founded by Adam Ackland, Benedict Cumberbatch and Adam Selves. SunnyMarch Productions’ notable works include, ‘The Courier’ and ‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’, both of which starred Benedict Cumberbatch. Andrea Cornwell is an award winning producer whose films include, ‘The Scouting Book for Boys’ and ‘Last Days on Mars’. Leah Clarke is another established producer who is known for the movie ‘Annihilation’ among others.
Unlike the previous roles donned by the actor, ‘The Thing with Feathers’ will showcase Benedict Cumberbatch in a novel role with his character being a father who still cannot move past the death of his wife and as a result, is faced with a uncertainty regarding his family’s future. It will be interesting to see Benedict Cumberbatch add multiple dimensions to his character in the upcoming feature film.
