The festive December 25, 2027, release date strategically positions Lizard Music to capture the family audience during the bustling holiday season. The film draws its inspiration from Daniel Pinkwater’s beloved novel of the same name, promising a whimsical journey into the extraordinary.

The story centers on a young boy, portrayed by Theo Clark Leber, who finds himself largely unsupervised. His world takes an unexpected turn when he stumbles upon a clandestine late-night television broadcast featuring lizards performing otherworldly music. This peculiar discovery opens a hidden door to an extraordinary realm, propelling the boy on a quest for answers.

His search ultimately leads him to an eccentric and whimsical old man, affectionately known as The Chicken Man, brought to life by Dwayne Johnson. The Chicken Man is accompanied by his cherished companion, an 85-year-old chicken named Claudia. The boy and the old man quickly form an unlikely bond, becoming kindred spirits who connect at precisely the right moment in their lives.

United by a shared vision, they embark on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far more profound. Their voyage takes them through invisible worlds and introduces them to unexpected harmonies, ultimately highlighting the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they seek but also in each other.

Johnson's role as The Chicken Man is described as a significant departure, requiring extensive makeup and prosthetics to transform him into the septuagenarian character. Behind the camera, Benny Safdie, known for his distinctive directorial vision, not only helms the project but also adapted the screenplay from Pinkwater's novel.

An impressive ensemble cast joins Johnson and Leber, including Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi, Regina Hall, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams, Andrew Dice Clay, and David Krumholtz.

Production duties are handled by a team of experienced names, including Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt from UA, Safdie’s Out for the Count Productions, Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, and David Koplan of Magnetic Fields Entertainment.

Lizard Music will enter a competitive holiday theatrical landscape. While it arrives a week after Disney/Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, it will open directly against Amazon MGM Studios’ own Ron Howard-directed actioner Alone at Dawn, starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway, as well as a new Warner Bros. film from Nancy Meyers. Other major releases in the vicinity include New Line’s Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and Lionsgate’s sequel The Housemaid’s Secret.