Following The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson and director Benny Safdie are collaborating again, this time on a fantasy film called Lizard Music. UPDATE: Regina Hall has now been tagged to join Dwayne Johnson in the new Benny Safdie film. Lizard Music is taking shape as we speak and there’s much to look forward to here. ... Regina Hall joins Dwayne Johnson in Benny Safdie’s fantasy film, Lizard Music
Following The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson and director Benny Safdie are collaborating again, this time on a fantasy film called Lizard Music.
UPDATE: Regina Hall has now been tagged to join Dwayne Johnson in the new Benny Safdie film. Lizard Music is taking shape as we speak and there’s much to look forward to here. This year’s Coyote V. Acme will bring the live-action/animation hybrids back in fashion, we hope and Lizard Music will continue that trend.
According to Deadline, Johnson will play the elderly Chicken Man while Hall will play his friend and co-worker.
Hall was most recently seen in this year’s Scary Movie, the sixth instalment in the horror parody franchise. Before that, she was part of the ensemble cast of Best Picture winner One Battle After Another. Talk about range!
There is still no word on when we might see Lizard Music, but we’re hoping to have an update on that sooner rather than later.
17th October 2025: Sports drama The Smashing Machine may eventually win Dwayne Johnson an Oscar for his transformative performance as UFC champion Mark Kerr, but it wasn’t a huge financial win for its studio, A24. Still, Johnson’s already planning to collaborate with that film’s writer-director Benny Safdie again – this time on a rather different project.
They’re set to make Lizard Music, an adaptation of a 1976 children’s novel by Daniel Manus Pinkwater. In a Home Alone-type scenario, the original story sees a young boy named Victor left by himself when his parents go on holiday. While watching TV late one night, he stumbles on a broadcast of singing lizards, which somehow leads him on a journey to a fantastical city – all with the help of a 70 year-old ‘Chicken Man’ and his fowl sidekick, Claudia.
According to Deadline, United Artists – part of the Amazon MGM empire – has picked up Lizard Music, no doubt attracted by the star wattage of Mr Johnson.
“We are so thrilled to partner once again with extraordinarily talented Dwayne Johnson, as well as work for the first time with the amazing creator, writer and director Benny Safdie, on Lizard Music,” Amazon MGM streaming and theatrical boss Courtenay Valenti said in a statement. “Everyone at Amazon MGM and UA is deeply inspired by their previous collaboration on the critically acclaimed The Smashing Machine. We are so excited to now collaborate with them on this imaginative, entertaining and cinematic story; Lizard Music is a tale that feels both timeless and unique. We are very fortunate that they have trusted us to be their studio partners.”
It isn’t currently clear who Johnson will play in the story; it seems likely he’ll be in the Chicken Man mentor role, though you could put an outside bet on Claudia the chicken or even Victor himself. Now that would be a transformative performance.
Lizard Music is the next leg in an evolving career direction for Benny Safdie, who previously made intense indie films like Good Time and Uncut Gems with his brother, Josh. The Smashing Machine marked a step towards the mainstream for Benny, it being an uplifting true-life drama. Josh Safdie, meanwhile, is pursuing his own path with the forthcoming Marty Supreme, which stars Timothee Chalamet. It’s another sports drama, this time a fictionalised account of ping pong champion Marty Reisman, and is due to emerge in cinemas this December.
More on Lizard Music as we get it.
