Timothée Chalamet has suggested creating a “musical cinematic universe” with his friend and Dune: Part Two co-star, Austin Butler, joking that Butler’s Elvis Presley could make an appearance in his upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.
The comments came in a new interview with the two actors by NME, in which Chalamet said that he’s been “picking Austin’s brain nonstop” to learn more about the actor’s notoriously in-depth process. For his part, Butler said “It’s just so cool to get to discuss process and talk through things. I can’t wait for that film. I wish I could be on set every day, and just watch the magic happen.”
Chalamet then jumped in, saying “I wish you were in it” to Butler. “There’s an Elvis character in the Johnny Cash biopic [Walk the Line],” he continued. “I was kinda wishing we could create a musical cinematic universe.”
Chalamet also discussed how Dylan admired Elvis, which could make the cameo more appropriate. At a later point in the interview, he reiterated that he “wishes” the cinematic Presley-Dylan crossover could happen, saying it “would be amazing.” As for Butler, he joked that maybe he could just be on set in a crew capacity, “just serving sandwiches” or something.
In other portions of their new conversation with NME, the actors discussed their favorite biopics, what albums they’ve been listening to, the time Butler met Paul McCartney, and more. Watch the interview below.
A Complete Unknown will see Chalamet portray Dylan from the period between his leaving Minnesota to meet Woody Guthrie through his infamous performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Directed by James Mangold — who got Dylan’s personal annotations for the script — the film will also feature Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, as well as Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Elle Fanning as Dylan’s early ’60s love interest, Sylvie Russo.
Butler’s Elvis was directed by Baz Luhrmann and arrived in 2022, earning Butler an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and possibly changing his voice forever.