If you’ve ever wanted to watch The Rock in a movie about chickens and magical lizards, then I have some good news for you.
As you may have heard, wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson is entering another new arc in his career, swapping box office action movies for Academy Award buzz thanks to his performance in the upcoming biographical sports drama, The Smashing Machine.
So, with the possibility of his first Oscar campaign on the horizon, Dwayne has already lined up his next role — and it sounds like quite the undertaking. On Sunday, it was confirmed that Dwayne will be re-teaming with Benny to make a movie adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 kids’ book, Lizard Music.
If, like me, you’re not familiar with this title, then be prepared, because the plot is a lot to digest on the surface. It follows a young boy named Victor, who, while home alone, finds a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music. He then passes through a hidden door, which leads him to the eccentric Chicken Man, whose companion is a 70-year-old chicken named Claudia. Together, they go on an adventure to discover a hidden society. Naturally, Dwayne will be playing the whimsical Chicken Man.
If that’s a little hard to grasp, then a viral X post has summarized it as follows: “[Dwayne] plays a 70-year-old man whose best friend is a 70-year-old chicken. Benny Safdie is directing. Story follows a boy who discovers intelligent alien lizard musicians living secretly on Earth. The boy teams up with Chicken Man to uncover the truth about the lizards.”
It’s very possible that you know all about this book already, but there are still plenty of people who are not familiar with the world of Lizard Music. For that reason, the internet’s reaction to Dwayne’s next project is quite hilarious.
Among the reactions, some have asked how Benny convinced him to get on board with the project. But, from what Dwayne said, there wasn’t much convincing necessary.
“Benny pitched me this after we wrapped The Smashing Machine, and after about 45 minutes, this pitch ended, and I said: ‘I am your Chicken Man,’” Dwayne recalled during a recent talk at Toronto Film Festival, in which he revealed that he’s started losing weight to play the part. “I’m so excited, because I get a chance to hopefully transform again, like I was able to do in Smashing Machine, so I can’t wait.”
You know what, Dwayne? I’m excited, too. LMK your thoughts on this in the comments.