Bob Dylan; The mere mention of that iconic name instantly conjures up the sounds of an era. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, Lay, Lady, Lay, All Along the Watchtower, It Ain’t Me, Babe, Blowin’ In The Wind and Things Have Changed are rightfully considered among some of the very best in music and all of them were brought to us by Midwestern native Bob Dylan. So what do you do if you have a legendary artist such as Dylan and you’re a director bringing forth a biopic on said legend? Casting is obviously extremely important, but what about the voice to deliver some of the most profound lyrics of modern times? Do you stick to the master tapes and put your lead actor through a rigorous round of lip-synching classes, or do you roll the dice and pray that the person you cast has enough vocal prowess to at least simulate the voice of several generations?

 From our Maggie’s Farm helpers over at The Hollywood Reporter comes the news that acclaimed actor Timothée Chalamet is preparing to channel his inner- Dylan both acting and singing-wise for the upcoming James Mangold-directed biopic A Complete Unknown.

During last week’s annual Star Wars Celebration (where it was announced that Mangold will be directing an upcoming Star Wars film), the director of the new installment of the Indiana Jones franchise surprised staunch Bob Dylan fans when he was asked if his lead actor Timothée Chalamet would be doing his own singing throughout the course of the new film A Complete Unknown. “Of course,” was Mangold’s immediate response.

Mangold’s assertion that Chalamet will sing in the new biopic should come as no surprise for any card-carrying film fan who is aware of the director’s previous work on the film Walk the Line. That movie famously saw both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon confound critics by spot-on nailing the music of Johnny and June Carter Cash with their own inimitable vocals. And, of course, other music biopics have called on their leads to pick up a microphone and actually sing: Gary Busey landed a deserved Oscar nomination for channeling the music of rock pioneer Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story, while Jamie Fox went the same route as Busey in his portrayal of Ray Charles in the movie Ray.

 Mangold went on to wax rhapsodic about A Complete Unknown, saying that “It’s such an amazing time in American culture and the story of a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with like two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years — first being embraced into the family of folk music in New York and then, of course, kind of outrunning them at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief. It’s such an interesting true story and about such an interesting moment in the American scene.”

A Complete Unknown is based off of the 2015 best-selling book Dylan Goes Electric from scribe Elijah Wald and is being given the scriptment by wordsmith Jay Cocks. Searchlight Pictures is releasing the movie.

A Complete Unknown is tentatively set to go in front of the cameras this August. We’ll keep our ears tuned into what has all of the earmarks of being another classic film from James Mangold!