A Complete Unknown: Everything We Know About James Mangold & Timothée Chalamet's Bob Dylan Movie (2024)

The new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet and directed by James Mangold is one of the most intriguing biopics on the horizon. With the immense talent in front and behind the camera while tackling one of the most influential music figures of all time could result in something very special. Ever since it was first announced, people have been eager to hear more about A Complete Unknown, and while the release date for the biopic is still a ways off, there is some exciting news surrounding the James Mangold Bob Dylan movie.

Bob Dylan is a musician who defined the folk music era and helped usher in a new type of music in the 1960s. Though he has had various stages in his career, A Complete Unknown will reportedly focus on Dylan's rise to fame and controversial switch from acoustic to electric. James Mangold tackles this biopic in the midst of two massive franchises, with the recently released Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and his upcoming Star Wars movie. Meanwhile, Timothée Chalamet remains one of the most popular and acclaimed up-and-coming actors in Hollywood with two buzzworthy movies already on the horizon with Dune: Part Two and the musical Wonka — and the new Bob Dylan could be a career highlight for both.

A Complete Unknown: Recent News

The Timothée Chalamet Bob Dylan movie is coming along, and the latest news offers a little tease about what Bob Dylan fans can expect from the actor's portrayal. James Mangold has praised Chalamet's music abilities in preparing for the Bob Dylan role, confirming that the actor will be playing the instruments and singing himself. Mangold says "Timmy is working his ass off right as we speak," before adding "I couldn't have more confidence in him." The director goes on to explain that, though COVID shut down production, Chalamet has continued to practice for the past three years.

Mangold reflects that, similar to him helming the Indiana Jones movie, taking on Bob Dylan as a director or actor comes with a lot of pressure. That pressure will be felt even more intensely by Chalamet who will actually be playing the music legend. But despite his young age, Chalamet has proven himself again and again. His dedication to this role seems clear, and it will be exciting to see how he brings such a well-known pop culture figure to life on the big screen in A Complete Unknown.

A Complete Unknown Is Confirmed

The new Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown, is confirmed to still be in production. The James Mangold Bob Dylan movie was announced in January 2020 only for it to be delayed indefinitely, along with a number of other projects, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in April 2023, Mangold gave a filming update for the new Bob Dylan biopic and revealed that it was aiming to begin filming in August 2023. While there is no Bob Dylan biopic release date yet, it is safe to assume it could be expected sometime in 2024.

A Complete Unknown: Cast

The Timothée Chalamet Bob Dylan movie sparked the attention of a lot of people with the announcement that the young actor would play the legendary singer-songwriter. Chalamet will play the guitar and sing Dylan's iconic songs himself in the movie. Also joining him is Elle Fanning who will play student and artist Sylvie Russo, Dylan's love interest in the 1960s setting of the story (via Deadline). Monica Barbaro, a standout in the cast of Top Gun: Maverick, will play singer-songwriter Joan Baez in the new Bob Dylan biopic (via THR) while Benedict Cumberbatch will play folk music legend Pete Seeger (via Deadline).

A Complete Unknown: Story Details

Though the director examined the career of another musical icon, Johnny Cash, in Walk the Line, the James Mangold Bob Dylan movie will be a different biopic. The movie will be more focused, taking a look at one significant moment in Dylan's long career with the suggestion that the entire movie will take place at the Newport Music Festival in 1965 where he made his controversial change from acoustic to electric. The result was Dylan being booed by his once-devoted fans.

Mangold further went on to describe the movie as an ensemble (via Collider), suggesting that Dylan, while the protagonist, will not be the sole focus of the story. In terms of how Dylan will be portrayed in the movie, Mangold called him "a wanderer who comes in from Minnesota with a fresh name and a fresh outlook on life." Yet while depicting the life of young Bob Dylan will no doubt be daunting, Mangold's script already has the biggest endorsem*nt it could get. Mangold confirmed that he has shown Dylan the script and the musician personally annotated it with his own notes. At least to some extent, A Complete Unknownwill benefit from input by the man himself.