Dwayne Johnson looked nearly unrecognizable as he filmed scenes for the upcoming fantasy film Lizard Music on the streets of Coney Island in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
The 54-year-old actor appeared in heavy prosthetics and a gray wig that aged him into the eccentric septuagenarian known as the Chicken Man. He wore a tan bucket hat, matching trench coat, blue shirt, patterned tie, light pants and sneakers while carrying a slice of pizza alongside his young co-star.
Ten-year-old Theo Clark Leber, making his feature film debut as the boy at the center of the story, walked with Johnson while holding a large green lizard plush toy and his own slice of pizza. Photographers captured the pair during outdoor filming in the Brooklyn neighborhood.
Johnson has described the transformation as requiring five hours in the makeup chair each day under the supervision of Oscar-winning prosthetics artist Kazu Hiro. The actor also slimmed down significantly for the role, shedding roughly 30 pounds of muscle from his usual build.
“Imagine Willy Wonka but from the mind of Benny Safdie,” Johnson said earlier this year while discussing the project. He plays a man in his 70s and has called the physical commitment a challenge he has embraced.
Lizard Music marks Johnson’s second collaboration with director Benny Safdie following their work on the 2025 sports drama The Smashing Machine. Safdie wrote and directed the new film, an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s novel of the same name.
The story follows a boy left to his own devices who stumbles upon a secret late-night television broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music. His search leads him to the whimsical Chicken Man and the man’s elderly chicken companion, Claudia. Together they embark on an adventure through hidden worlds.
The project is a live-action and CGI hybrid produced by Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions along with Safdie’s Out for the Count Productions, United Artists and others. Amazon MGM Studios is distributing the film, which is scheduled for theatrical release on December 25, 2027.
The ensemble cast also includes Tim Heidecker, Alicia Silverstone, Regina Hall and Andrew Dice Clay, with Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams and David Krumholtz providing voice roles.
Johnson shared on Instagram that the New York shoot held special meaning for him. “I’ve never shot a film in NYC that I’ve starred in. A first for me and a real honor,” he wrote, noting Safdie’s deep connection to the city.
Set photos of Johnson’s transformation first circulated widely on October 20 through outlets including Page Six and Entertainment Weekly, drawing immediate attention for how thoroughly the actor disappeared into the character.
