Amazon MGM Studios has staked out a Christmas Day 2027 berth for "Lizard Music," the long-gestating adaptation that pairs Dwayne Johnson with director Benny Safdie, the studio confirmed Tuesday. The family fantasy adventure will open wide on December 25, 2027, landing squarely in one of the most competitive corridors of the release calendar.
The project, which has been quietly assembling its cast over the past year, marks a sharp tonal shift for Safdie, who broke out alongside his brother Josh with the jittery New York crime dramas "Good Time" and "Uncut Gems." Here he works from material that could hardly be further from that milieu: a whimsical, music-driven fantasia aimed at all ages.
A Late-Night Signal Opens a Hidden Door
"Lizard Music" follows a boy named Victor, played by newcomer Theo Leber, who is left to his own devices and stumbles onto a secret late-night broadcast of lizards performing otherworldly music. The discovery swings open a hidden door to the extraordinary, and his hunt for answers brings him into the orbit of the eccentric Chicken Man - Johnson - and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia.
The pair turn out to be kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by that shared vision, the unlikely trio sets off on an adventure that begins as a search for a hidden society but grows into something far grander: a voyage through invisible worlds and unexpected harmonies, and a meditation on the bond between lost souls who find magic not only in what they discover but in one another.
The film is being positioned across adventure, family, fantasy and music - a genre blend that gives the studio several lanes to sell in a holiday frame.
An Unlikely Ensemble
Johnson's turn as the Chicken Man represents one of the more idiosyncratic choices of his career, a far cry from the broad four-quadrant tentpoles that have defined his filmography. He is joined by Regina Hall, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi and Andrew Dice Clay, with Colman Domingo lending his voice to the production.
Leber anchors the film in the central role of Victor, carrying much of the narrative as the boy whose curiosity sets the story in motion. For a Christmas release built on wonder and discovery, the studio is clearly betting that a mix of star power and a genuine directorial signature can distinguish the film from the season's louder offerings.
Safdie Steps Out on His Own
"Lizard Music" also represents a notable solo outing for Safdie, who has largely worked in tandem with his brother. Directing a family fantasy with a major movie star at its center is a different kind of test - one that trades the anxiety-inducing intimacy of his earlier work for large-scale world-building and a musical sensibility the premise puts front and center.
Details about the production remain closely held. The studio has not disclosed a runtime, and the film has yet to be rated or screened for audiences, leaving its official rating and critical reception unknown for now. Plot specifics beyond the logline are also under wraps, including how the invisible worlds of the story will be realized on screen.
Christmas Comes Early for Amazon MGM
The December 25, 2027 date puts "Lizard Music" in the heart of the holiday moviegoing window, a period that rewards family-friendly fare with broad appeal. The studio has not announced competing titles or a marketing timeline, and no trailer or first-look imagery has been released.
For Amazon MGM, the film adds another high-profile original to a slate that has increasingly leaned on theatrical event releases. For Johnson, it offers a chance to stretch against audience expectations. And for Safdie, it is a conspicuous change of register - a bet that the filmmaker behind some of the most nerve-shredding pictures of the past decade can conjure a little holiday magic of his own.
Audiences will find out whether the lizards' late-night broadcast translates into box-office music when "Lizard Music" opens in theaters on December 25, 2027.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter