Actor Dwayne Johnson is set to reunite with director Benny Safdie for his upcoming fantasy adventure film Lizard Music, following their previous collaboration on the sports drama The Smashing Machine (2025). Moving into the children’s cinema space, the project sees the action star undergo another significant physical transformation, this time stepping into the role of a 70-year-old character.
Images of Johnson from the Brooklyn set of the film in New York surfaced online on Tuesday, showing the actor wearing a beige jacket, bucket hat, blue shirt, and printed tie. To achieve the 16-year age progression for his character, named Chicken Man, the 54-year-old actor underwent extensive prosthetic work.
The film is an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s novel of the same name. According to the official synopsis, the narrative follows a young boy who discovers unusual lizard musicians during a late-night television broadcast, leading him to meet a peculiar elderly man accompanied by a chicken. The ensemble cast includes Rachel McAdams, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Alicia Silverstone, and Regina Hall.
For the visual transformation, Safdie enlisted prosthetic artist Kazu Hiro, who recently managed Tom Cruise’s aged aesthetic for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s satirical black comedy Digger (2026). Discussing his physical prep at the Toronto International Film Festival, Johnson revealed that he shed 30 pounds for the role, remarking that the transformation process involved “eating less chicken.” Backed by Amazon MGM Studios, Lizard Music is scheduled for a theatrical release on December 25, 2027.
Prior to Lizard Music, Johnson will return to the big screen this Christmas, reprising his role as Dr Xander Bravestone in Jake Kasdan’s Jumanji: Open World (2026). Positioning itself as the fifth and final instalment in the franchise, the action-adventure features an ensemble cast comprising Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, and Danny DeVito.
Meanwhile, Johnson was last seen in the 2026 American musical adventure film, Moana. It was a live-action adaptation of Disney Animation’s 2016 film.
Source: Variety
