There have been countless documentaries about the life and career of iconic folk singer Bob Dylan, and there was even a 2007 anthology film inspired by the musician’s various stages, but sometime soon we’ll be getting a full-fledged biopic. A Complete Unknown, the long-in-the-works biographical drama starring Timothée Chalamet, is finally happening and will bring Dylan’s story, as well as that of other figures in the ‘60s folk scene, to the big screen in great detail.
Though there are still several unanswered questions about James Mangold’s upcoming music biopic, we actually know quite a lot about the movie, including its cast, story, and how Chalamet is preparing to play the legendary Dylan. Let’s take a look at everything we know about A Complete Unknown…
What Is The A Complete Unknown Release Date?
The 2024 movie schedule has been full of great music biopics, and that trend will continue as A Complete Unknown is set to open in theaters on Christmas day, or December 25, 2024. Searchlight Films, which is handling the film’s distribution, gave the upcoming Timothée Chalamet film its date in August 2024.
When A Complete Unknown opens on the big screen later this year, it will have some steep competition in the form of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake and The Fire Inside, Rachel Morrison’s sports drama about the rise of Olympic boxer Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields.
The Complete Unknown Cast
Timothée Chalamet sits atop A Complete Unknown’s cast, but the Dune: Part Two star isn’t the only high-profile actor set to appear in the highly-anticipated biopic. In fact, the list of actors is exceptional, to say the least.
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan
First, there’s Timothée Chalamet, who’ll be playing a young Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, in the earliest chapters of his landmark folk career. This won’t be Chalamet’s first time singing in a role, as he previously performed multiple numbers in Wonka in late 2023.
Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez
Monica Barbaro, one of the breakout stars of the Top Gun: Maverick cast, will be joining Chalamet in A Complete Unknown. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Fubar actress will be playing influential folk singer, and Dylan’s one-time lover, Joan Baez.
Edward Norton as Pete Seeger
Edward Norton will step in as Pete Seeger, a massive figure in the American folk scene throughout the 20th century. According to Deadline, Norton took on the role after Benedict Cumberbatch was forced to depart due to scheduling conflicts.
Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo
Elle Fanning, who previously shared the screen with Chalamet in the 2019 Woody Allen film, A Rainy Day in New York, will appear in the movie as Sylvie Russo, Dylan’s girlfriend in the early 1960s, per Deadline.
Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash
When it comes to playing country music legend Johnny Cash, the responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Boyd Holbrook, who previously worked with James Mangold on 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman
Dan Fogler, star of movies like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Balls of Fury, will be taking on the role of Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, in A Complete Unknown
Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie
Trailblazing folk singer Woody Guthrie, known for songs like “This Land is Your Land” and “Dying Miner,” will be portrayed by Scoot McNairy in A Complete Unknown. McNairy has previously appeared in everything from Argo to True Detective.
In addition to those major stars, A Complete Unknown will also see performances from the likes of Will Harrison, Charlie Tahan, P.J. Byrne, Eli Brown, Nick Pupo, James Austin Johnson, and multiple others.
What Is A Complete Unknown About?
When A Complete Unknown hits the big screen this holiday season it will follow a young Robert Allen Zimmerman as he reinvents himself as Bob Dylan, one of the most influential icons of 20th-century American pop culture. Searchlight Pictures has announced that the upcoming biopic sees the early days of the singer’s career in the New York folk scene and then culminates with one of the most consequential moments in rock and roll history: the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, which is where Dylan divided fans by “going electric.”
The A Complete Unknown Trailer
After what seemed like years of hearing about the Timothée Chalamet-led Bob Dylan movie, Searchlight Pictures gave the world its first proper look at the long-in-the-works biographical drama with the first A Complete Unknown trailer in July 2024. Set to “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” from Dylan’s sophomore effort, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, the two-minute teaser is filled with scenes from throughout the singer’s meteoric rise to fame in the early-to-mid 1960s.
Looking like a mixture of Walk the Line and Inside Llewyn Davis, A Complete Unknown could very well end up being one of the best music biopics of all time if the movie is half as good as its first trailer. And with what appears to be amazing performances by Chalamet, Edward Norton, and the rest of the cast, it’s looking that way.
James Mangold Is Directing A Complete Unknown
James Mangold, who previously directed the critically acclaimed Walk the Line biopic about the troubled life and redemptory path of country music icon Johnny Cash, is spearheading A Complete Unknown. Back in January 2020, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the filmmaker behind movies like Girl, Uninterrupted, Logan, and most recently, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was working on an untitled musical biographical drama about the transformative folk singer.
The screenplay for the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation, which Mangold wrote with Gangs of New York scribe Jay Cocks, is based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 non-fiction book, Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties.
Timothée Chalamet Sang Everything Live In A Complete Unknown
If you watched the trailer for A Complete Unknown and couldn’t figure out why Bob Dylan sounded so different singing “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” you may be surprised to find out that that wasn’t Dylan at all. Instead, that was Timothée Chalamet singing the classic folk song, and it wasn’t the only song he sang for the movie.
In a July 2024 interview with Glamour Magazine, Fanning, who is set to lead the Margot’s Got Money Troubles adaptation for Apple TV+, revealed that Chalamet was actually singing in the movie, stating:
It was great to form that relationship, with Timmy, he’s worked so hard for this part. He's singing everything live, like he's really like going for it. It was very special to watch him do that. And he's been a friend for a long time. So yeah, I'm just happy to be a part of it.
While Chalamet will be singing Dylan’s songs in A Complete Unknown, it’s not yet known if costars like Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, or Scoot McNairy will be doing the same. But here’s hoping, right?
Bob Dylan Gave James Mangold Notes On A Complete Unknown’s Script
The movie appears to have Bob Dylan’s blessing, as Mangold has gone on the record to say that the influential musician gave him notes after receiving a script a few years ago. In July 2023, Mangold told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he “spent several, wonderfully charming, days” with Dylan where he had one-on-one conversations. In fact, the copy of the script that the singer personally annotated is something that Mangold now treasures.
Timothée Chalamet Worked With Austin Butler’s Elvis Team To Prepare For His Portrayal Of Bob Dylan
Though he played Austin Butler’s character’s bitter enemy in Dune: Part Two, which we gave a perfect five-star review, Timothée Chalamet has admitted that he followed in his co-star’s footsteps when preparing for A Complete Unknown. In a sprawling GQ profile on the actor, Chalamet explained that after finishing the second and hopefully not final Dune movie from Denis Villeneuve, he started working with the team Butler used to play the “King of Rock and Roll” in Elvis, stating:
I’ve basically been working with his entire Elvis team for my Dylan prep. There’s a wonderful dialect coach named Tim Monich. Vocal coach named Eric Vetro. Movement coach named Polly Bennett. I just saw the way he committed to it all—and realized I needed to step it up.
Considering Butler won a Golden Globe for his performance in Baz Luhrmann’s mesmerizing biopic, Chalamet appears to have been in good hands during all his prep work.
Expect to hear much more about A Complete Unknown in the coming months, especially as production continues moving forward. But, while we wait, now would be a good time to go back and revisit some of those great Timothée Chalamet performances.
