On July 24th, Searchlight Pictures dropped the first official teaser for the new film following Bob Dylan’s historical musical journey. Starring Timothée Chalamet, this film is set to come to theaters sometime this coming December.
To set the stage, this film begins by following a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York from Minnesota with something but a few dollars in his pocket, hoping to break into the music industry.
Director James Mangold finds it important to capture the intricacy of Dylan’s rise from a kid who played music to a worldwide sensation that quite literally shaped music as we know it.
“My attraction became instantly to this idea of a talent like Bob, so vexing, so provocative, so filled with fiction and fact,” Mangold told Rolling Stone. “This idea of this incredible, artistic character landing in New York with 12 dollars in his pocket- trying to thread the needle of how one goes from there to there is so interesting to me.
Mangold even spent one-on-one time with Bob Dylan himself to truly work through the story and the script, capturing exactly what was needed to tell the tale.
Although the cast was originally announced in 2020, due to COVID, production did not begin until more recently, making this film a five-year wait.
Filming finally wrapped by early July and various photos of characters on set were revealed where Chalamet resembles young Bob Dylan a striking amount.
Eager to hit the big screen, the story of Bob Dylan is one to be shared. “It’s certainly following Bob, but I’m much more interested in the wake that this person has left on others.”
Timothée Chalamet is Bob Dylan and Edward Norton is Pete Seeger in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, only in theaters this December. #ACompleteUnknown pic.twitter.com/WPKMgTSnB0
— Searchlight Pictures (@searchlightpics) July 29, 2024
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan
“I think he walks a really beautiful line of allowing an audience to see what a joy it is for this character to make music and what pure joy he experiences in his camaraderie with other musicians and his exploration of ideas and words and music, both making it and listening to others.”
James Mangold, Rolling Stone
With an astounding career thus far, fans are excited to see Timothée Chalamet take on a complete transformation for this role.
Chalamet goes to full lengths to depict Bob Dylan. Not only is he acting out the role, but 70% of the soundtrack is recorded using his own voice.
After filming Dune: Part 2 with Austin Butler, who completely embodied Elvis in his own movie, Chalamet decided to enlist Butler’s vocal coaches and teams as well.
“I just saw the way [Butler] committed to it all — and realized I needed to step it up,” Chalamet said. The complete trifecta, he sings, dances, and acts throughout the entirety of the film.
59 years ago today, Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, only in theaters this December. #ACompleteUnknown pic.twitter.com/jd6HhDPxrz
— Searchlight Pictures (@searchlightpics) July 25, 2024
Mangold was blown away by Timothée’s ability to take this character to the level he has. “I think he does an incredible job of growing the character up…Timmy really carries this character from a 19-year-old boy telling tales of working on the carnival into this person that we recognize as an icon. Timmy finds the path to carry us there,” he says. “The way he grows this character is a real act of acting brilliance in my opinion.”
Who else should we expect to see on the big screen?
During the time this film takes place, Bob Dylan dated Suze Rotolo, whom he to this day values deeply in his journey to become the legend he has.
It is undeniable how influential and dear Suze is to Dylan, which makes her important to somehow include in this story. However, subjecting her name to this major film did not feel like it would truly capture her value in his story.
So Sylvie Russo was created.
Played by Elle Fanning, Sylvie is meant to exist outside of Dylan’s major success and fame. She is a staple of a normal person who, in the big picture of it all, just means something to the artist.
“Also a kind of home, and a kind of purity of love that they experienced together, that in many ways his character can’t ever have with anyone else. Because after a couple years, he’s now Bob Dylan, and there is no way for anyone to relate to him the way someone who knew him at the beginning and met him at the beginning could, like Suze/Sylvie did.”
James Mangold, Rolling Stones
Casting Fanning in this role was a great move. Rolling Stone says that Timothée and Elle seemingly “light up the screen together.”
Joan Baez, a well-established folk singer accustomed to the spotlight of the era, is set to play a huge part in the story. As a main character, she brings another element into Dylan’s life. “There are sparks both warm and fiery that exist throughout the movie between them,” Mangold tells Rolling Stone.
Monica Barbaro is Joan Baez in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, only in theaters this December. #ACompleteUnknown pic.twitter.com/WAxy5oZwEk
— Searchlight Pictures (@searchlightpics) August 1, 2024
Fans are also highly anticipating the character of Johnny Cash, one whom Mangold has worked with in the past. In the 2005 film autobiography “Walk the Line,” James Mangold told the story of Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) in a “highly entertaining and emotionally impactful” way.
However, it has been clarified that there is no meta-verse type of parallel involved in this storytelling. Phoenix will not be playing Cash, but instead, Boyd Holbrook has been cast.
There are other characters you will be sure to recognize in this film. The appearances of Dylan’s famous friends add a very realistic nature to this film. The cast also includes Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie.
Official Teaser
This film is highly anticipated and quite a long time coming. With an exceptional cast, crew, and years of development, this film is expected to hit BIG.
Now that you heard everything we know about this film, watch it come to life in the newly released official teaser!
