Dwayne Johnson and filmmaker Benny Safdie are reteaming on “Lizard Music,” an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 novel that has been set up at Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists, with film chief Scott Stuber shepherding the package. Safdie will write and direct; Johnson will play the eccentric septuagenarian known as the Chicken Man, a role that marks a sharp turn from his recent action persona.
The story follows a boy who discovers a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music and crosses paths with Chicken Man and his elderly companion, a chicken named Claudia, on a reality-bending adventure. The film arrives as Johnson and Safdie ride momentum from their first collaboration, the MMA drama “The Smashing Machine,” which is currently in theaters.
In remarks at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, Johnson said he has slimmed down for the part and described Chicken Man as a “whimsical and eccentric 70-something-year-old,” underscoring his intention to pivot into more character-driven work. “I am your Chicken Man,” he told the audience, framing the role as a deliberate transformation after bulking up to portray fighter Mark Kerr.
Amazon MGM’s Courtenay Valenti praised the project as an imaginative, cinematic tale, while Stuber called the world Safdie and Johnson are building “unlike anything either has done before.” Safdie said the book is one he read with his sons and voiced excitement at “watch[ing Johnson] transform and become the Chicken Man,” signaling a family-accessible tone with idiosyncratic flourishes. Producers include Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for UA, Safdie for Out for the Count Productions, Johnson for Seven Bucks Productions, and David Koplan for Magnetic Fields Entertainment.
No production timetable or release plan was announced, but the pickup reflects an aggressive push at United Artists under Stuber to secure filmmaker-driven packages, and it extends Johnson’s post-“Smashing Machine” shift toward offbeat material that emphasizes performance over physique.
