Dwayne Johnson has been photographed on the set of Lizard Music looking like a 70-year-old man. Johnson was spotted shooting the film at Coney Island in Brooklyn on Tuesday, wearing a tan bucket hat and coat while holding a slice of pizza as he walked beside his young co-star Theo Clark Leber, who carried an oversized lizard plush.
Johnson plays the Chicken Man, a character in his seventies. This look was created by prosthetics artist Kazu Hiro, who recently turned Tom Cruise into an elderly oil baron for Digger.
Johnson told Deadline at D23 that the process takes five hours of makeup every day. He described the film as Willy Wonka but from the mind of Benny Safdie.
Based on Daniel Pinkwater's children's book, Lizard Music follows a boy who stumbles on strange lizard musicians on late-night TV, leading him to befriend a peculiar man with an elderly chicken. It is a live-action and CGI hybrid.
Tim Heidecker, Alicia Silverstone, Regina Hall and Andrew Dice Clay star, with the voices of Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams and David Krumholtz. At a Toronto Film Festival talk in 2025, Johnson said it took about 45 minutes of Safdie's pitch before he said I am your Chicken Man.
He lost 30 pounds of muscle for the part. I'm so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again, he said then.
The production has drawn significant attention from fans and media alike due to the drastic physical transformation and unique premise. Director Benny Safdie is known for his distinct visual style and compelling storytelling, raising expectations for this project.
The film is expected to hit theaters in the coming years, bringing this whimsical and bizarre story to life for audiences worldwide.