Lizard Music follows a boy home alone who hunts lizard musicians he saw on late-night TV, with Dwayne Johnson and Alicia Silverstone. Amazon MGM, 25 Dec 2027.

Lizard Music: Dwayne Johnson’s Thunderbolt City

An upcoming fantasy adventure will allow Dwayne Johnson to step into an unusual and fantastical world in Lizard Music, directed by Benny Safdie.

Jumping off of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s novel, Lizard Music follows a boy who stumbles upon an intriguing television broadcast featuring lizards performing music.

Johnson will play the Chicken Man, an eccentric old man who will play a crucial role in the boy’s journey.

Using live action shots along with computer generated images, the production will create a strange fantasy land filled with unique and unusual characters.

Amazon MGM has announced the film will be released in theaters on Christmas Day in 2027. Currently, the production is underway in New York.

What is Lizard Music About?

A boy who finds himself alone becomes captivated by an odd television broadcast. Late at night, the show airs and features a group of lizards performing bizarre and wonderful music.

The boy sets off on a journey to learn all he can about the performers, and discovers a mysterious elderly man, the Chicken Man.

The Chicken Man is joined by a chicken named Claudia. The hen’s age, along with the mysterious and fantastical circumstances of the story, create a whimsical and fantastical tone for the film.

The boy and the Chicken Man embark on a larger journey to a mysterious land of a hidden society that is beyond the boy’s reality.

The film takes direct references from the novel, although the filmmakers have been vague about other changes they made during the adaptation.

Part of the appeal of the story is the surprising friendship that develops between characters from different generations.

A Very Unusual New Character for Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson will play Chicken Man, a kooky, elderly character who becomes a central guide on the adventure.

The role is very much a departure from anything else we have seen the actor do.

Recently, a number of pictures have surfaced from the set of Johnson with heavy prosthetic makeup, gray hair and clothes typically associated with elderly characters.

The transformation has been a collaboration with one of the best in the business, Academy Award winner Kazu Hiro.

The two have previously worked together on the film The Smashing Machine. Johnson also has a longtime working relationship with director Safdie; they have collaborated on numerous projects including TV and documentary work, going back over a decade.

Their new project is a bit of a departure for both as it is less documentary and more fantasy.

The actor has stated that he is interested in expanding the types of roles he takes on to challenge what audiences think of him.

Johnson’s bizarre new look has been the most researched and talked about element of the production for audiences looking for information on the film via entertainment search engines like moviebox.

Cast and crew members have commented on how wonderful it’s been to work on the show because of the seamless integration of live-action and CGI components.

The producers have not made public identifications of some animated characters voiced by these performers.

The full distribution of supporting roles has not been made public.

The expanding ensemble cast, nonetheless, demonstrates the commitment to world-building by the filmmakers, the scope of the adaptation, and the desire to create a unique vision of fantasy.

This story isn’t about battles or kingdoms. It finds other forms of magic in ordinary happenings.

The television broadcast provides an entry point into a new kind of experience.

The film adaptation might create various creatures and settings based on the book.

Because the production uses a mix of live performance and CGI, the filmmakers might create opportunities to make fantasy creatures interact with the actors.

No specifics about designs or a final approach have been released.

Principal photography is currently underway. There was filming in NYC in October 2026. Some filming has also taken place in Brooklyn. Photographs from that location show Dwayne Johnson in elaborate character makeup, and working with child actor Theo Clark Leber.

Christmas 2027 is when the film is scheduled for a theatrical release.

A Christmas release strategically places the family film in a time of the year associated with family entertainment.

International theatrical releases and home streaming have not been announced.

Film discussions are being managed by Amazon, and information might be found on a movie-related board called ‘Movie Box‘.

Set in an imaginative world, and featuring an all-star cast, including Dwayne Johnson, Lizard Music is poised to be an unusual family adventure film.