Bob Dylan Biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’ Sets Christmas Release Date
James Mangold’s upcoming Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” will hit theaters on Dec. 25, Searchlight Pictures announced Tuesday.
The prime release date not only sets it up as the perfect reason for a trip to the theaters during the holidays, but also for awards season buzz.
The film, starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic folk musician, will take audiences back to the early years of Dylan’s career. It will begin in the early 1960s with a 19-year-old Dylan in New York City having freshly moved from Minnesota, leading up to his acclaimed performance at Newport Folk Festival in 1965 where he took to the stage with an electric guitar.
His arrival sparks an “upheaval in the folk community and what they thought was proper folk and illicit folk,” Mangold has described.
The first trailer for the film debuted in July and gave fans their first official footage of Chalamet doing his own singing as the music legend, which both the actor and Dylan’s fans have been waiting to see after years of delays.
Also part of the star-studded cast are 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 and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie.
While the story has Dylan at its center, Mangold noted in an appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast (via IndieWire) that it is an ensemble piece about “a very specific moment” in 1960s New York City, rather than just a ‘Bob Dylan biopic.’”.
“A Complete Unknown” was adapted by Mangold and Jay Cocks from “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald, which was first published in 2015. Dylan himself also gave Mangold notes on the script, an annotated copy that Mangold said he treasures.
Chalamet and Mangold produced the film alongside Fred Berger, Alex Heineman, Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer and Jeff Rosen.
Watch the trailer below.
See Searchlight Pictures’ “A Complete Unknown” in theaters on Dec. 25.