Dwayne Johnson Describes ‘Lizard Music’ As “‘Willy Wonka’ From The Mind Of Benny Safdie,” Details 5-Hour Makeup Process To Play 70-Year-Old — D23

Following his transformation for The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson is back together with Benny Safdie for their next project.

While speaking to Deadline on Sunday at D23, the Golden Globe nominee revealed that he’s begun production on the Safdie-helmed Lizard Music, for which he undergoes “five hours of makeup every day” to play a man in his 70s.

“We’re in full production. It’s called Lizard Music, I’m with Benny Safdie again. That’s my guy,” he said. “Imagine Willy Wonka but from the mind of Benny Safdie.

Johnson continued, “And I play a septuagenarian man. Now, I didn’t know what the hell that meant. So, I had to Google it, it means you’re in your 70s. So, we transform, and it’s five hours of makeup every day. We’re with Kazu Hiro, who is a legend in Hollywood. He was also nominated for Smashing Machine, for our prosthetics, and he is helping me transform.

“So far, we’re in our second week, and it has already been an unbelievable experience. It’s that thing I was telling the kids, ‘Run towards that thing.’ This is that thing that I ran towards and chased the challenge, and this was a challenge for me. I love Benny, he’s one of my best friends and most embraced collaborators, so I can’t wait for you to see it,” said Johnson.

Dwayne Johnson reveals he is transforming into a genarian (in his 70s) for his next role in ‘Lizard Music,’ which he describes as “Willy Wonka [& the Chocolate Factory] but from the mind of Benny Safdie” pic.twitter.com/YW0NJrJs4T

As Deadline exclusively announced the film based on Daniel Pinkwater’s novel, Safdie told us us that Lizard Music is about “a kid who discovers an island of lizards that are sentient, and they play music, they have broadcast TV. And they want him to come and see them. And he teams up with the Chicken Man, who Dwayne plays, and they go on this adventure to find the land of the lizards.”

“[Johnson] was just talking about how he was slimming down,” said Safdie, after the actor revealed at Toronto International Film Festival that he was undergoing another transformation for the role.

Last October, Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists scooped up Lizard Music, which is written and directed by Safdie, following his and Johnson’s work together on A24’s The Smashing Machine last year.