It may be called A Complete Unknown, but we’ve got a full picture of James Mangold’s music biopic now, as we tune our guitar strings ahead of its festive release.
Starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic Bob Dylan, there are high expectations. Not just because Mangold (also tapped for the upcoming Star Wars movie Dawn of the Jedi) is a filmmaker who has built a solid reputation with a mature eye.
It’s also because the music biopic went stratospheric before quickly going out of vogue because of sheer volume. Recent duds like Black to Black have proved the Bohemian Rhapsody formula isn’t a sure thing.
Dylan, a kind of American folklore in his stature and songwriting, is a different kind of star to tackle. But Mangold seems the man to do it, having dealt with complicated legacies (Indiana Jones 5, Logan, Ford V Ferrari) before.
A Complete Unknown release window
A Complete Unknown will be released in December 2024 in US cinemas.
Searchlight Pictures confirmed the window on July 24, 2024, when the first trailer for the Timothee Chalamet movie was shared on YouTube, writing the film will be “in theaters this December.”
A release for other countries such as the UK will likely follow from January 2025 onwards, making it ripe for awards season.
Cast list
Timothée Chalamet plays Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, supported by a cast including Elle Fanning, Edward Norton, and Boyd Holbrook.
Holbrook portrays country legend Johhny Cash, who was friends with Dylan for over 40 years.
- Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan
- Edward Norton as Pete Seeger
- Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo
- Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez
- Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash
- Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman
- Norbert Leo Butz as Alan Lomax
- Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie
- P. J. Byrne as Harold Leventhal
- Will Harrison as Bob Neuwirth
- Eriko Hatsune as Toshi Seeger
- Charlie Tahan as Al Kooper
- Ryan Harris Brown as Mark Spoelstra
- Eli Brown
- Nick Pupo
- Big Bill Morganfield
- Laura Kariuki as Mavis Staples
- Stephen Carter Carlsen as Paul Stookey
- Eric Berryman as Tom Wilson
- David Alan Basche
- Joe Tippett
- James Austin Johnson
- Kayli Carter as Maria Muldaur
- Sarah King as Barbara Dane
- Alaina Surgener as Gena Russo
- Michael Chernus as Dave Van Ronk
- Stephen Carter Carlsen as Paul Stookey
- Andy Talen as Jimmy Dean
- Riley Hashimoto as Danny Seeger
What’s the plot?
Set in the influential New York music scene of the early ’60s, A Complete Unknown follows the meteoric rise of 19-year-old Minnesota folk musician Bob Dylan.
He ascends to concert halls and the top of the charts, with his songs and mystique turning him into a worldwide sensation.
Like most music biopics, the personal drama and industry stakes will lead to an iconic performance in the film’s climax. In this case, Dylan’s groundbreaking 1965 electric rock and roll show at the Newport Folk Festival.
Mangold told Rolling Stone, I didn’t want to turn Bob Dylan into a simple character with a simple thing to unlock that then makes you go, “Ah, now I get him.” I don’t think that’s possible, having gotten to know him.
I also think it’s pretty clear he spent most of his life trying to avoid that exact act by anybody. Which is an act of, by nature, reduction — reducing someone to a simple epiphany, a plot-point Freudian history of their life.”
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He added, “I’m much more interested in the wake that this person has left on others, as much as I’m interested in unpacking who he is in some kind of conventional movie-Freudian way.
That’s why Elle’s character and Pete Seeger, Edward’s character, and Joan Baez, of course, and many others are more than just passing through in a kind of Hall of Presidents pageant.”
Teaser trailer for A Complete Unknown
A teaser trailer was shared on July 24, 2024.
The teaser features Norton’s Peter Seeger detailing how Dylan came out of nowhere, and how he showed him the future of music by playing one song.
We also see Chalamet performing ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ on stage.
How to watch
Searchlight Pictures is releasing A Complete Unknown as a theatrical exclusive. The film will eventually stream on Disney+ as Disney owns Searchlight.
You’ll need a subscription to watch when it arrives on the streaming service.
Does Timothée Chalamet sing in A Complete Unknown?
Chalamet sings Dylan’s songs instead of having his voice dubbed over.
IndieWire reported the actor took singing and guitar lessons for the role, and Mangold answered “Of course!” when Collider asked the question.
Whether you prefer lip-syncing in the style of Bohemian Rhapsody, or the actors taking over like in Rocketman is personal preference. We can hear in the teaser footage how Chalamet has trained his voice to sound as close to Dylan’s as possible.
It would be more offensive if this were an Adele or Michael Bublé biopic. Dylan’s songwriting is where the gold is. He has a pleasant voice fitting his style but is not primarily a vocalist.
For more, read our Bob Marley: One Love review, jam out to the Yellowstone soundtrack, or explore biopic nuances in Blonde is unethical – but Marilyn Monroe biopics won’t stop.
