Bob Dylan was reportedly invited to perform and present at the 2025 Oscars, in which his biopic A Complete Unknown is nominated for eight categories.
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During the ceremony, both host Conan O’Brien and presenter Mick Jagger – who introduced the Best Original Song category in an unnannounced appearance – made jokes about Dylan’s planned involvement. The legendary singer-songwriter was not present at the event.
“Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly,” O’Brien joked during his 13-minute opening monologue.
Later, Jagger quipped: “The producers wanted Bob Dylan to do it, but Bob didn’t want to,” before putting on his own impression of Dylan: “‘The best songs this year are obviously in A Complete Unknown. You should find somebody younger.’ OK, I’m younger than Bob! So here I am.”
The Hollywood Reporter has now revealed that Dylan was indeed invited to perform and present at the Oscars. The award for Best Original Song went to Emilia Pérez‘s ‘El Mal’.
Mick Jagger outta nowhere!!!! Says he is here to present Best Original Song because Bob Dylan didn’t want to! Haha #Oscars pic.twitter.com/NWoo7a5ywU
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) March 3, 2025
In NME‘s four-star review of A Complete Unknown, Alex Flood wrote: “If you’re a Bob newbie, you’ll leave the cinema ready to dive into his back catalogue. If you’re already a fan, the next few weeks will be spent making playlists of lesser-known B-sides or reading the lore around a scene you weren’t familiar with. And that’s why it was a good idea to make this film – a mad idea, but a good one.”
The 97th Academy Awards are being hosted by O’Brien for the first time, the comedian taking over duties from Jimmy Kimmel.
Leading this year’s nominations is Netflix musical Emilia Pérez, which is up for 13 awards including Best Picture, while epic drama The Brutalist and Broadway adaptation Wicked follow behind with 10 nominations apiece.
Other strong contenders include papal thriller Conclave and Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown with eight nods each, while comedy drama Anora has six nominations.
This year’s ceremony will get a bit of a change-up, with no performances for Best Original Song, while the show is expected to honour Los Angeles following the recent devastating wildfires. Harrison Ford has also pulled out of presenting due to illness.