Dwayne Johnson Looks Unrecognizable as a 70-Year-Old in Lizard Music

Following The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson and director Benny Safdie are reuniting for a new live-action/CGI hybrid movie, Lizard Music. Filming is currently underway in New York City.

Johnson looks unrecognizable in his new look as Chicken Man, a 70-year-old character in Lizard Music. Johnson and Theo Clark Leber were spotted filming in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on October 20, 2026.

The film is based on Daniel Pinkwater’s children’s book and follows a young boy who “stumbles upon strange lizard musicians on late-night TV, leading him to befriend a peculiar man with an elderly chicken.”

Johnson previously revealed that he had to spend five hours in makeup every day to transform into a man in his 70s. Johnson’s aged look was created by makeup artist Kazu Hiro, who also transformed Tom Cruise into an elderly oil baron for Digger.

In the images, Johnson wears a tan bucket hat and coat while holding a slice of pizza and walking alongside his young co-star Leber, who carries an oversized lizard plush.

During a career retrospective talk at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (via Variety), Johnson said he agreed to star in Lizard Music after Safdie spent about 45 minutes convincing him. He also revealed that he lost 30 pounds of muscle to play the Chicken Man.

Here are the plot details:

Lizard Music follows a boy (Leber) who is left to his own devices and stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast featuring lizards playing otherworldly music. This discovery opens the door to an extraordinary world. His search for answers leads him to an eccentric, whimsical old man nicknamed the Chicken Man (Johnson) and his beloved companion, Claudia, an 85-year-old chicken. The boy and the old man become kindred spirits who find each other at just the right time.

United by a shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but grows into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find but also in each other.

The film also stars Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi, Regina Hall, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams, Andrew Dice Clay, and David Krumholtz.

The screenplay was adapted by Safdie from Daniel Pinkwater’s novel of the same name. The film’s producers are Scott Stuber, Nick Nesbitt, Safdie, Johnson, and David Koplan, representing their respective production companies.

Lizard Music will hit theaters on December 25, 2027, from Amazon MGM Studios.