Dwayne Johnson has built a global reputation playing powerful action heroes, but his latest film is taking him somewhere audiences might not expect. New photographs from the Brooklyn set of Lizard Music reveal a striking change in his appearance, offering an early glimpse of a character far removed from the roles that made him a household name.
The transformation is only part of the intrigue surrounding the upcoming film. Directed by Benny Safdie, the project brings together a young boy, a mysterious television broadcast featuring musical lizards and an eccentric older man whose closest companion is a chicken. For Johnson, it also marks another opportunity to challenge his familiar screen image.
Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Lizard Music’ Transformation Revealed in Brooklyn Set Photos
Johnson was spotted filming Lizard Music in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on October 20, 2026. The photographs showed the actor with grey facial hair, an aged face created using prosthetics, a tan bucket hat and a long coat.
Walking alongside his young co-star Theo Clark Leber, who was carrying an oversized lizard plush, Johnson looked dramatically different from the muscular performer audiences have come to associate with action films, comedies and major adventure franchises.
The photographs provide an early look at the film’s central pairing, although they do not reveal the full circumstances of the scenes being filmed. The lizard plush, however, offers a visual connection to the story’s unusual premise.
Rather than playing a physically imposing fighter or conventional action hero, Johnson is taking on the role of the Chicken Man, an eccentric elderly character from Daniel Pinkwater’s children’s book Lizard Music.
The transformation involves more than a change of clothing. His aged facial appearance, grey hair and overall styling help establish the character as an older man, making the role a notable departure from Johnson’s familiar screen persona.
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How Kazu Hiro Is Transforming Dwayne Johnson Into the Chicken Man
A key part of Johnson’s transformation comes from the work of acclaimed prosthetic makeup artist Kazu Hiro. His film credits include The Smashing Machine, Johnson’s previous collaboration with Safdie, and Digger, the upcoming film featuring Tom Cruise in an aged appearance.
For Lizard Music, Hiro’s work helps give Johnson a different physical presence, making him look considerably older than he is.
The prosthetics are combined with grey facial hair, a wig, a tan bucket hat and everyday clothing to complete the Chicken Man’s appearance. Together, these elements help distinguish the character from the action-focused roles that have defined much of Johnson’s career.
His physical preparation has also taken a different direction.
After building muscle to portray real-life mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, Johnson has been working to reduce his muscular physique for Lizard Music. He revealed that he had shed around 30 pounds of muscle after gaining it for the earlier film.
The changes are intended to support a believable portrayal of an elderly, eccentric character. While the prosthetics and costume create the visible transformation, Johnson’s performance will ultimately determine how the Chicken Man comes across on screen.
What Is ‘Lizard Music’ About? The Strange Story Behind the Film
Lizard Music is based on Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s book, known for its surreal premise and unconventional characters.
The story follows a young boy who discovers a mysterious late-night television broadcast featuring lizards playing music. What begins as an unexpected discovery draws him towards a strange world that operates outside the boundaries of an ordinary childhood adventure.
As the story develops, the boy encounters the Chicken Man, an eccentric elderly man whose closest companion is an old chicken. Their meeting becomes an important part of the boy’s attempt to understand the unusual events surrounding the broadcast.
The film’s official logline describes the premise as a young boy who “stumbles upon strange lizard musicians on late-night TV, leading him to befriend a peculiar man with an elderly chicken.”
The description captures the story’s combination of fantasy, mystery and offbeat humour without revealing how the film will adapt the book’s events.
Leber plays the young boy, while Johnson portrays the Chicken Man. Their characters form the central pairing around which the story develops. The musical lizards are also essential to the premise, although the available set photographs do not establish how the creatures will be depicted on screen.
The unusual concept sets Lizard Music apart from the more conventional action and sports projects associated with Johnson. Instead of building its story around physical conflict or athletic competition, the film draws on Pinkwater’s imaginative world and the unexpected connection between a child and an eccentric older man.
Why Dwayne Johnson Agreed to Play the Chicken Man
Johnson discussed Lizard Music during a career retrospective conversation at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where he spoke about his changing approach to selecting roles.
According to his account, Safdie did not need a lengthy pitch to persuade him. The director presented the idea, and Johnson quickly decided he wanted to take on the character.
Recalling the conversation, Johnson said:
“Benny pitched me this after,” Johnson said, recalling how the project came to him. “And after about 45 minutes, this pitch ended and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’”
His response reflected his enthusiasm for a role that would allow him to move away from his established screen identity.
Johnson has spent much of his career portraying physically imposing characters across action films, comedies and large-scale adventure franchises. The Chicken Man presents a different acting challenge, requiring him to inhabit an elderly, eccentric figure rather than rely on the qualities audiences usually associate with his performances.
At the same Toronto Film Festival event, Johnson also discussed the physical changes he was making for the role and his desire to transform himself again after The Smashing Machine.
He said:
“I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in ‘Smashing Machine,’” Johnson said. “[It means] eating less chicken.”
The lighthearted remark referred to his preparation for the role, while highlighting the contrasting physical demands of his recent projects.
From ‘The Smashing Machine’ to ‘Lizard Music’: Why Johnson Is Changing His Physique
In The Smashing Machine, Johnson portrayed Mark Kerr, a real-life MMA fighter whose career and personal struggles formed the basis of Safdie’s 2025 sports drama.
The role required Johnson to build muscle and maintain a physique suited to the fighter he was portraying. He also discussed the challenge of maintaining the additional weight while working on another project, Moana.
Preparing for Lizard Music meant moving in the opposite direction. Johnson revealed that he had shed around 30 pounds of muscle after gaining it for The Smashing Machine.
The contrast between the two productions is significant. In the earlier film, his physical appearance helped represent a real athlete and the circumstances of his life. In Lizard Music, he is playing a fictional character rooted in Pinkwater’s unconventional storytelling.
Both projects involve substantial changes to Johnson’s appearance, but they present very different acting challenges.
His recent work with Safdie has given him opportunities to explore characters that differ from the roles that first made him a global star. Johnson’s comments at the Toronto International Film Festival indicated that he was enthusiastic about transforming himself again rather than simply returning to a familiar type of performance.
Benny Safdie Reunites With Dwayne Johnson After ‘The Smashing Machine’
Lizard Music marks another collaboration between Johnson and Safdie following The Smashing Machine, which starred Johnson as Kerr and Emily Blunt as Kerr’s then-partner, Dawn Staples.
Safdie previously co-directed films including Uncut Gems and Good Time with his brother Josh Safdie. He directed The Smashing Machine as a solo project, taking an intimate approach to the sports story by focusing on Kerr’s career and personal life rather than treating his achievements in the ring as the entire narrative.
The new film moves into a different genre.
Where The Smashing Machine explored the pressures surrounding a professional fighter, Lizard Music draws on a children’s book built around an extraordinary television discovery and an unusual friendship.
The two projects have little in common beyond their director and leading actor. Nevertheless, Johnson’s casting connects them through his willingness to take on physically and dramatically different roles.
For Safdie, the project offers an opportunity to work with an established star within a story whose appeal rests on its imaginative premise and unconventional characters.
‘Lizard Music’ Cast: Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum and More
Johnson and Leber are joined by an ensemble that includes Rachel McAdams, Colman Domingo, David Krumholtz, Jeff Goldblum, Alicia Silverstone and Regina Hall.
Tim Heidecker, Andrew Dice Clay and Arya Parvathi have also been reported among the cast.
The ensemble brings together performers with experience across drama, comedy and genre films. However, their precise roles and the extent of their involvement in the film’s unusual fantasy elements have not all been detailed in the available information.
The project is backed by Amazon MGM Studios under its United Artists label, with production involvement from Seven Bucks Productions and Magnetic Fields Entertainment. Johnson is also among the producers, alongside Safdie and other members of the production team.
Amazon MGM Studios is preparing the film for a theatrical release in the United States.
‘Lizard Music’ Release Date: When Will the Dwayne Johnson Film Arrive?
The film is scheduled to open in US theatres on December 25, 2027.
| Film detail | Information |
| Film | Lizard Music |
| Director | Benny Safdie |
| Lead actors | Dwayne Johnson and Theo Clark Leber |
| Johnson’s character | The Chicken Man |
| Source material | Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s book |
| Studio | Amazon MGM Studios |
| Label | United Artists |
| Production companies | Seven Bucks Productions and Magnetic Fields Entertainment |
| Reported filming location | Coney Island, Brooklyn |
| Set-photo date | October 20, 2026 |
| US theatrical release | December 25, 2027 |
| Streaming release date | Not established in the sources cited |
A separate streaming release date has not been established in the available sources.
For now, the Brooklyn set photographs offer an early glimpse of Johnson’s transformation, while his Toronto International Film Festival comments provide insight into why he wanted the part. The images show the actor embracing a look far removed from his familiar action-star appearance, but they do not reveal how the finished film will bring its musical lizards and eccentric characters to life.
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Conclusion: Dwayne Johnson Takes on One of His Most Unusual Roles
Dwayne Johnson’s transformation into the Chicken Man signals another step away from his familiar screen persona. With Kazu Hiro handling the prosthetic makeup, Benny Safdie directing and Theo Clark Leber playing the young boy at the centre of the story, Lizard Music brings together an unusual premise and a cast led by a star exploring a different kind of character.
Johnson’s reported loss of around 30 pounds of muscle, his aged appearance in the set photographs and his enthusiasm for the role all point towards a substantial change from The Smashing Machine. Whether the film’s surreal story of musical lizards and an elderly man with a chicken will become another memorable entry in his filmography remains to be seen.
For audiences, the next major milestone is the film’s scheduled December 25, 2027, US theatrical release.
Source and Research Disclaimer: This article has been prepared based on thorough research of the sources provided below. It reflects information available in those sources at the time of writing and does not imply independent verification beyond the supplied material. Production details, casting information and release plans may change.
Sources
- Variety — Dwayne Johnson Transforms Into a 70-Year-Old Man in ‘Lizard Music’ Set Photos
- Variety — Dwayne Johnson Discusses Losing Muscle for ‘Lizard Music’
- People — Dwayne Johnson’s Transformation for ‘Lizard Music’
- Seven Bucks Productions — Theo Leber Cast Opposite Dwayne Johnson
- Seven Bucks Productions — ‘Lizard Music’ Project Information
- Seven Bucks Productions — ‘Lizard Music’ Lands at Amazon MGM
Featured Image Credit: Harald Krichel / WikiPortraits, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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