Benny Safdie's live-action/CGI hybrid "Lizard Music" keeps growing its star power: Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams, and David Krumholtz have joined the film's voice cast, according to a Deadline exclusive published October 15, 2026, with the casting wave rippling across entertainment outlets through October 17.
Four New Voices for the Lizard Broadcast
The four actors join in voice roles, though their specific characters have not been disclosed. They enter an already packed ensemble led by Dwayne Johnson as the septuagenarian "Chicken Man," newcomer Theo Clark Leber as the boy Victor, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Regina Hall (as the Chicken Man's friend and co-worker), Arya Parvathi, and Andrew Dice Clay.
What "Lizard Music" Is About
The film adapts Daniel Pinkwater's 1976 novel of the same name. It follows a young boy, Victor — played by newcomer Theo Clark Leber, cast after a months-long search in his feature debut — who, left on his own, stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music. His search for answers leads him to an eccentric, whimsical septuagenarian nicknamed the Chicken Man and his 111-year-old chicken companion Claudia. Together they embark on an adventure through invisible worlds and hidden societies, a story about friendship, imagination, hope, and the unbreakable bond between two lost souls.
A Safdie-Johnson Reunion on a Fast Track
The project is backed by Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists, with producers Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt (UA), Safdie himself, Johnson through Seven Bucks Productions, and David Koplan of Magnetic Fields Entertainment. It marks a reunion of Safdie and Johnson after "The Smashing Machine," for which Johnson earned a Golden Globe nomination. Johnson reportedly underwent about five hours of daily makeup and prosthetics to play a 70-year-old man.
Principal photography ran August 3 through October 14, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia, at Trilith Studios, with Maceo Bishop as cinematographer. The film is targeted for a theatrical debut in 2027, though no official release date has been announced. Safdie has described the project as "Willy Wonka through his lens" — a whimsical, magic-and-heart adventure.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Silly Fun (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Mid-day (Oct 17, 2026) · SSBCrack (Oct 17, 2026) · ComingSoon