Dwayne Johnson has traded his trademark bald head and muscular action-hero appearance for grey hair, a weathered face and a distinctly older look in his upcoming film, Lizard Music.

Photographs taken on October 20, 2026, in Coney Island, Brooklyn, show the 54-year-old actor looking almost unrecognisable while filming alongside young co-star Theo Clark Leber. Wearing a beige bucket hat, a long coat and a patterned tie, Johnson was photographed holding a slice of pizza as Leber carried an oversized green toy lizard.

But the transformation is considerably more elaborate than a grey wig and some facial hair.

Five hours of makeup for one unusual character

Johnson plays the Chicken Man, an eccentric character in his seventies who befriends a young boy and has an elderly chicken as his companion.

The ageing effect is the work of prosthetic makeup artist Kazu Hiro, who previously helped transform Johnson into MMA fighter Mark Kerr for 2025's The Smashing Machine.

Speaking to Deadline during Disney's D23 event in August, Johnson confirmed that becoming the Chicken Man requires five hours of makeup every day.

The transformation also extends beyond prosthetics. During a September 2025 appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival, Johnson explained that he was deliberately slimming down for the part. As Variety reported, the actor had been shedding much of the additional muscle he developed for The Smashing Machine.

That distinction matters: the grey hair and aged facial features seen in the new photographs are part of a carefully constructed character, while his leaner physique reflects a physical change he had already discussed publicly.

What is Lizard Music actually about?

Directed and written by Benny Safdie, Lizard Music adapts Daniel Pinkwater's 1976 children's novel into a fantasy adventure combining live action and computer-generated imagery.

The story follows a boy who discovers mysterious television broadcasts featuring musical lizards. His search for answers brings him into contact with the Chicken Man, setting the unlikely pair on an adventure involving a hidden world.

It marks Johnson's second collaboration with Safdie following The Smashing Machine, although the new film moves away from the real-life sporting drama of their previous project.

The cast also includes Alicia Silverstone, Regina Hall and Tim Heidecker, with Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum, Colman Domingo and David Krumholtz attached to voice roles.

When will Lizard Music be released?

Despite earlier reports suggesting that its release date remained unconfirmed, Lizard Music is now scheduled to arrive in US cinemas on December 25, 2027.

The Christmas release was reported by Deadline on October 19, 2026, with Amazon MGM Studios handling the film.

For audiences accustomed to seeing Johnson as an imposing action star, the newly released set photographs published by Variety offer the first substantial glimpse of a transformation that has been in development for months.