Timothee Chalamet performs a rendition of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s hit 1965 track Like a Rolling Stone in the trailer of James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, dropped by the makers on Tuesday.

Touted as “the ballad of a true original”, the two-minute-24-second-long trailer kicks off with Chalamet singing Girl From the North Country as he arrives in New York from Minnesota. The trailer quickly shifts to glimpses of a budding romance between Dylan and fellow folk singer Joan Baez, portrayed by Monica Barbaro.

Viewers are then treated to a scene of Dylan and Baez performing together at the 1963 Monterey Folk Festival. Complications arise with the arrival of Elle Fanning’s character, Sylvie Russo, a fictionalised version of Dylan’s then girlfriend Suze Rotolo, famously pictured with him on the iconic album cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

As Dylan grows increasingly frustrated with the fame surrounding his folk anthem Blowin’ in the Wind, he experiments with a new sound with his track Like a Rolling Stone. This musical shift causes a divide among his fans, with some embracing his evolving style, while others criticising him for abandoning his folk roots.

The trailer concludes with Boyd Holbrook’s cameo as Johnny Cash, who expresses his desire to hear Dylan's music, even as others resist the artist’s bold transition from folk to electric.

A Complete Unknown is inspired by Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric, which traces Dylan’s journey from his folk-revivalist avatar in Woodstock to his electric period that began in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival.

Apart from Chalamet, the ensemble cast of A Complete Unknown features Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, P.J. Byrne as Harold Leventhal, Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie, Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman and Will Harrison as Bob Neuwirth.

A Complete Unknown is slated to hit theatres globally during Christmas this year.