Benedict Cumberbatch to Portray Pete Seeger in Biopic "A Complete Unknown"

British star Benedict Cumberbatch has been tapped to portray folk icon Pete Seeger in the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown".

“The Wolverine” and “Ford v Ferrari” director James Mangold revealed the news at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival following a screening of his latest movie, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny".

Seeger, who passed away in 2014 at age 94, had a significant role in Dylan’s early musical career in the 1960s, helping facilitate his record label contract and inviting him to perform at the Newport Folk Festival.

"A Complete Unknown" stars Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning in an unspecified role.

Woody Guthrie will also be portrayed in the movie, though the actor cast for the role has yet to be announced.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in August. The biopic is based on Elijah Wald’s book Dylan Goes Electric and a script from Jay Cocks.

Chalamet will do his own singing in the forthcoming Searchlight Pictures movie.

In a recent interview, Mangold was asked whether the "Dune" actor would do his own crooning in the biopic, instead of dubbing in Dylan’s voice. Mangold replied, “Of course!”.

The director also opened up on what drew him to the Dylan film, saying: “It’s such an amazing time in American culture. 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.”