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Timothee Chalamet to play Bob Dylan in 'Going Electric' biopic, fans ask will he be as good as Cate Blanchett?

The biopic film will portray the transformational journey of music icon Bob Dylan from a folk singer to a rockstar

Actor Timothee Chalamlet is all set to essay the role of Bob Dylan — the towering figure in pop culture — in an upcoming movie, tentatively titled ‘Going Electric’.The biopic will portray the transformational journey of the music icon from a folk singer to a rockstar. It is going to emphasize on the legend’s controversial shift to electric guitar in 1965.

The role might prove to be a groundbreaking part for the 24-year-old actor, who has previously garnered fame for his supporting roles in films like ‘Interstellar’, comedy ensemble ‘Love the Coopers’. The actor has also won Academy award nomination for his critically acclaimed coming-of-age film ‘Call Me By Your Name’ in 2017 and was last seen in the movie ‘The Little Women’.  

As per Deadline, ‘Going Electric’ will be directed by James Mangold who has ventured previously into making music biopics. He has previously directed 2005’s ‘Walk the Line’ that chronicled the life of Johnny Cash, ‘Ford v Ferrari’, ‘Girl Interrupted’ and ‘Logan’. The director previously said that Dylan is working hand-in-hand with Mangold and the film’s production company. Not just that, the musician’s long time career manager, Jeff Rosen, is among the executive producers. 

Known for his politically charged mindset and flamboyance, Dylan has been an inspiration to several filmmakers who have based their films on his journey. In the 2007 film ‘I’m Not There’, Dylan was depicted by six different actors, including Cate Blanchett who went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance and even received an Oscar nomination for the remarkable role. Further, a 2019 documentary titled 'Rolling Thunder Revue', chronicled Dylan’s 1975 tour of the same name and was directed by Martin Scorsese. 

Timothee seems to be pretty excited to venture into the role. He took to Twitter on August 8 after taking a few months off from social media to drop subtle hints about the next project. He first tweeted a selfie of himself, followed by Bob Dylan’s lyrics and songs and later shared a photo of the song, ‘It’s Alright Ma’ by Dylan.

“He is not busy being born is busy dying”, he tweeted quoting from Dylan’s song ‘It’s Alright Ma’ earlier. 

After the actor continuously tweeted, fans couldn't help but look back at Blanchett's portrayal of Dylan and started talking about how she nailed the role. "They shouldn't have chosen Timothee. Cate already did amazing," one tweeted. 

Another wrote how Timothee won’t stand in front of the powerful performance that Cate has given previously. "Timothée Chalamet can play Bob Dylan all he wants, he won’t hold a candle to Cate Blanchett’s performance in 'I’m Not There'." 

The internet kept lauding her performance and even compared it to how Timothee would essay the role. "Tim tams is a nice and very charming sprite man but Cate Blanchett AM BECOME BOB DYLAN, like oppenheimer and death, straight up."

Some talked about Timothee’s looks and said that he won’t fit in the role and that Cate was far better. "Chalamet is too pretty. Blanchett rocked it, it's called acting." 

Another one wrote found the news of Timothee essaying the role sad. "Cate’s performance was amazing, it’s a shame they are hiring this Chalamet guy. no offense." 

Cate’s one fan wanted to see her in the role again. "I ain't seeing no Cate Blanchett at all in this clip. Even though I can hear her. WTAF is going on here?”

It isn't easy to breathe life into the towering figure of Dylan, who has had a golden career spanning 50 years. Only time will tell if Timothee aces it on the silver screen.