Timothée Chalamet’s Dream For A Musician Cinematic Universe Already Happened 17 Years Ago
Summary
- Timothée Chalamet dreams of a Musician Cinematic Universe, but a 17-year-old comedy, “Walk Hard,” did it first.
- Chalamet suggests Austin Butler could reprise Elvis in A Complete Unknown to create connections between legendary musicians.
- The idea could work, as many biopics exist, and “Walk Hard” has a different comedic tone despite similarities in concept.
Timothée Chalamet has revealed that he’d love to see a shared universe of films focusing on famous musicians, creating a new kind of MCU — but a cult-classic comedy from 17 years ago pulled off that dream first. Chalamet is set to appear in the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. The young star boasts a strong track record at the box office, suggesting the latest Timothée Chalamet’s movie would be an excellent place for any actor currently working in Hollywood to show up.
That would be especially true if they get a meaty role playing a famous 20th century musician opposite Chalamet in a Bob Dylan movie with clear Oscar aspirations. A shared universe focusing on the biggest musical stars of the era is a fun one, especially considering how many musical biopics have been released in recent years. However, his idea to set up a Musician Cinematic Universe has actually already been done on film in a surprisingly goofy (and effective) style.
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Timothée Chalamet Wants To Build A Musician Cinematic Universe
Timothée Chalamet has spoken about wanting to build a Musician Cinematic Universe with his upcoming Bob Dylan film, but the John C. Reilly-led Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story did just that almost two decades ago. During an interview with NME while promoting Dune: Part Two, Chalamet revealed that he would love to see Austin Butler appear in his upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, reprising his Academy Award nominated role as Elvis Presely. Chalamet even noted that he would love to see a “musical cinematic universe” that connects their on-screen versions of legendary musicians.
It’s an interesting idea, and one that has plenty of potential connections. The film industry has always pumped out plenty of biopics focusing on famous musicians. This would potentially set up plenty of potential connections, especially if actors were interested in cameoing in other biopics as their respective musical stars. This could allow Taron Egerton’s Elton John or Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Bob Marley to appear in other films, depending on the focus character. This wouldn’t be the first time that a film found a way to incorporate several famous musicians (all played by mainstream actors) into a single film universe, however.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Created Chalamet’s Dream MCU 17 Years Ago
|
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Cast Members |
Which Real-World Musician They Portrayed |
|
Jack Black |
Paul McCartney |
|
John Ennis |
The Big Bopper |
|
Adam Herschman |
Jerry Garcia |
|
Justin Long |
George Harrison |
|
Frankie Muniz |
Buddy Holly |
|
Paul Rudd |
John Lennon |
|
Jason Schwartzman |
Ringo Starr |
|
Jack White |
Elvis Presley |
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a parody of the musician biopic sub-genre. It focuses on Dewey Cox, played by John C. Reily. Directly poking fun at the James Mangold-directed Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, the film is a goofy comedy that pokes fun at numerous elements of those kinds of films. The film has one of the most stacked comedy casts of all time, with many of its biggest names only appearing for a single scene. This includes a number of stars who make cameos as assorted musicians from across the 20th century.
Jack White of the White Stripes appeared as Elvis Presley, while Malcom in the Middle star Frankie Muniz appeared as Buddy Holly. Comedy veteran John Ennis appeared as the Big Bopper, while Adam Herschman plays Jerry Garcia. The most memorable of these cameos saw Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman play the Beatles. They portrayed John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr respectively. This is on top of several real-life musicians playing themselves, such as Eddie Vedder, Lyle Lovett, Ghostface Killah, and Jewel.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
is available for purchase through Prime Video and VUDU.
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How Walk Hard Could Coexist With Chalamet’s Dream MCU
The difference in tone between the two makes it easy to see Chalamet’s musician-based MCU co-existing with Walk Hard. Walk Hard is a parody of the music industry and films focusing on them, especially in the Beatles sequence. The scene pokes fun at the habit in biopics of reimagining famous musicians as catchphrases spouting dopes. By contrast, A Complete Unknown seems to be playing the premise completely straight, with Chalamet’s take on Bob Dylan leaning on a grounded and dramatic approach. It’d be easy to excuse the two approaching the same concept, considering their vast differences in terms of presentation.
There’s also the fact that A Complete Unknown is a big dramatic swing from Chalamet, who has become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stars. Anticipation for the film contrast against the initial response for Walk Hard. Walk Hard was critically-acclaimed and developed a cult following, but was a bomb at the box office that killed the musical parody genre for years. Chalamet’s connected cinematic universe of musicians could potentially fare better, given the dramatic gravitas of projects like A Complete Unknown. Timothée Chalamet’s musician cinematic universe would be an interesting counterpoint to Walk Hard‘s similar idea.
Source: NME
