Timothee Chalamet's Bob Dylan Biopic - Cast, Director, And More Info
BY JEREMY SMITH/MARCH 23, 2024 7:00 AM EST
There may not be a more daunting artist from the twentieth century (and beyond) to grapple with in any form than Bob Dylan. The folk music legend is regarded by many as the most influential songwriter of the last 60-plus years, and, at the age of 82, is just as relevant today as he was in his rebellious young adulthood. He pricked the nation's conscience in the early 1960s with classic protest anthems like "The Times They Are a-Changin'," "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," inspiring many a teenager and twentysomething to pick up an acoustic guitar and sing their truth. Then, in what his folkie colleagues/admirers took as a betrayal, he went electric. This would be the first of many confounding transformations. In a way, he kept throwing fans off the scent of the big "Who is Bob Dylan?" question by, every few years, getting them to ask "Who is Bob Dylan now?"
The essential inscrutability of Bob Dylan has been the subject of many a film, whether the musician is existing as himself in a documentary or acting in a fiction feature. Jason Robards' title lawman puts the question to Dylan's mysterious Alias as directly as possible in Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid": "Who are you?" "That's a good question," replies Alias.
It isn't necessary to know Bob Dylan the human being to be moved by his music, but people keep probing. What exactly are they hoping to find out about this Minnesota-born Jewish kid who dropped out of college, moved to Greenwich Village, and changed the world? That might be the more interesting question, especially when filmmakers of D.A. Pennabaker, Martin Scorsese, and Todd Haynes are doing the interrogating. James Mangold will be the next major director to ponder this enigma with "A Complete Unknown." We know Timothée Chalamet is set to play Dylan, but who else is involved and what do you need to know while we wait for this biopic to hit theaters? Those are comparatively easier questions to answer.
When does A Complete Unknown premiere?
James Mangold began shooting the film on March 16, 2024, so this depends on how fast he can work. Do not expect him to be in a rush. His last pre-Covid production, "Ford v Ferrari," hit theaters over a year after Mangold commenced principal photography.
You can, however, be sure that, given the cultural magnitude of the movie's subject, this is a film that will get a splashy film festival berth whenever it's ready. It's a Fox Searchlight production, so the safest bet is a global premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, or maybe the New York Film Festival. So expect the hoped-for critical raves to start showering down no earlier than late August 2025, and a theatrical release at some point in the fall of that year.
"Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" is rentable at Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, YouTube and Vudu.
"Hearts of Fire" was difficult to track down for years, but can now be rented at AppleTV, Prime Video and Vudu.
"Masked and Anonymous" is waiting to assail your senses at Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, YouTube and Vudu.