Deadline has confirmed Benedict Cumberbatch will star in A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s upcoming biopic of musician Bob Dylan.
Reports surfaced that Cumberbatch would appear in the film earlier this year, but nothing concrete had been announced. In a Deadline report on an afterparty during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, it was noted that Cumberbatch would star in the film alongside Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning.
According to the story, Cumberbatch will play the role of iconic singer Pete Seeger. Seeger’s history as a songwriter is prolific, with the artist having written songs like “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)”, and “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)”.
In their history, Seeger was one of the earliest backers of Bob Dylan.
Who else is in A Complete Unknown?
A Complete Unknown (formerly titled as Going Electric) will be directed by James Mangold from a screenplay written by Jay Cocks with revisions by Mangold. It chronicles Bob Dylan’s rise in folk music and sudden transition to rock ‘n’ roll. The film will also see Dylan’s interaction with 1960s music legends which include Joan Baez and Pete Seeger. Searchlight Pictures also has the rights to the Pop Culture icon’s music.
The film is executive produced by Dylan along with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Andrew Rona. Jeff Rosen, who is Dylan’s longtime manager, has also signed on as a producer with Mangold, Veritas Entertainment Group’s Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, and Peter Jaysen, Automatik’s Fred Berger, and The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman also set to produce.
Besides the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, Chalamet is also currently attached to lead two high-profile projects in the form of Legendary’s Dune: Part Two and Warner Bros.’ musical prequel Wonka.
