Fans of Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown are hoping Timothée Chalamet returns for “multiple films” adapting the legendary songwriter’s life.
It comes after a comment from film director Paul Schrader, with the Taxi Driver writer suggesting further parts of Dylan’s life are worth exploring on the big screen. He wrote: “A Complete Unknown. I love this movie. I say that as someone who has known Dylan and this time period. Now I want to see the next one. Then the one after that. There is no six year period in Bob Dylan’s life that isn’t fascinating.” Fans appeared to agree with the sentiment Schrader posted, with r/BobDylan users on Reddit wanting more follow-ups to A Complete Unknown with Chalamet at the helm.
One user wrote: “I’m with Schrader here, keep them coming! The odds are slim, but it would be refreshingly unique for Mangold and Chalamet to keep telling Dylan’s story over multiple films. It would be a nice break from all the biopics that just try to cram a whole artist’s career into one film.” Other fans have pinpointed the moments they want brought to life on film, including collaborations with Grateful Dead.
They wrote: “I want a whole movie on when Grateful Dead convinced him to play those shows with them in ’87 and how he credits those for giving him a new lease on liking performing live.” Another added: “I would love this to be realized. There are so many tales to tell and periods to cover.
“Dylan’s history with the Grateful Dead or the Band, his country renaissance, the late 80’s – early 90’s, his disappearance, you could do all sorts of stuff.” A third suggested letting Chalamet “get a little older” before any planned sequel released. They wrote: “What would be the next one? If we’re talking Blood on the Tracks you need to let the kid get a little older. Maybe The Basement Tapes or late 60s but I don’t know how that would be an entertaining movie.”
Another has suggested Self Portrait could be perfect for adapting Dylan’s life to the big screen again. They wrote: “I would love to see a movie about Self Portrait – just this weird moment in an artist’s life where they’re coming down from the highest of highs and aren’t entirely sure what to do, but they know they want it to be different.
Paul Schrader, writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, director of the music video for Tight Connection to My Heart, on A Complete Unknown
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“Just trying to redefine yourself and absolutely baffling people in the process. I think it’d be great to see a biopic like that, where they aren’t producing their most incredible work, they’re not on their downward spiral toward rehab.” Some have suggested Adam Sandler could be an exceptional replacement for Chalamet in those later adaptations too.
One wrote: “Adam Sandler plays Dylan in the ’80s and ’90s. He plays sold-out concerts and is treated like a king everywhere he goes, but he can’t quite shake the feeling that he’s washed up. Audiences only want to hear the classics from the ’60s and the songwriting well has pretty much run dry.
“He wants to find meaning in writing, recording and performing again but the world wants him to just step aside and make way for the next generation. Bit by bit, collaborations with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Grateful Dead and Daniel Lanois help him find his way back to himself.”
I don’t need to see this film.