Timothée Chalamet to Star as Bob Dylan in James Mangold-Directed Biopic

Timothée Chalamet is looking at another iconic role on the horizon this year as he is currently in negotiations to portray music icon Bob Dylan in a biopic helmed by Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold for indie powerhouse Fox Searchlight.

The film will reportedly follow a young Dylan as he rises in the folk music industry and eventually transitions to rock n’ roll. However, according to Deadline, Chalamet’s part in the movie isn’t written in stone as he is still in talks for the role. On the other hand, Fox Searchlight has finalized a deal for the film. The biopic has no official title yet, but sources indicate that it’s currently operating under the working title Going Electric.

It’s been a busy past three years for Chalamet as he starred in certified movie hits beginning in 2017’s Call Me By Your Name (which got him a Best Actor Academy Award nod). His recent film, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, is once again generating Oscar buzz this year. Chalamet’s other recent 2019 films include Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York and Netflix’s The King. He is also set to star as Paul Atreides in the upcoming Dune remake from Denis Villeneuve, which is scheduled for a December 18, 2020 release and also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.

Mangold, on the other hand, is fresh from his Ford v Ferrari directorial duties. The film is also an Oscar contender, much like his 2017 Academy Award-winning film, Logan.

That being said, musical biopics seem to be a hot awards-grabber in recent years. Given Mangold’s proven track record of directing movies that ultimately rack up awards, it’s safe to assume that the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic could also garner the same amount of recognition.

Dylan’s longtime manager, Jeff Rosen, will produce the film alongside Veritas Entertainment Group’s Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer and Peter Jaysen, Automatik’s Fred Berger, The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman, and Mangold. Dylan will executive produce with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Andrew Rona.