Regina Hall Joins Dwayne Johnson In Benny Safdie's Next Film 'Lizard Music' From United Artists And Amazon MGM Studios
- Y. Marie Kiven
- Jul 27
- 3 min read
Regina Hall joins Dwayne Johnson, Theo Leber, Alicia Silverstone, and Tim Heidecker in Benny Safdie's "Lizard Music," the live-action/CGI hybrid adaptation now in production at United Artists and Amazon MGM Studios.
By Kiven Marie
Regina Hall has joined Dwayne Johnson in Amazon MGM Studios' and United Artists' live-action/CGI hybrid film "Lizard Music," from director Benny Safdie, Deadline first reported. Theo Leber, Alicia Silverstone, and Tim Heidecker are also part of the ensemble. Besides starring, Johnson is also producing.
The film follows a boy (Leber) left to his own devices who stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, when a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to an eccentric and whimsical old man nicknamed The Chicken Man (Johnson), and his beloved companion, a 111-year-old chicken named Claudia, two kindred spirits who found each other at just the right time. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.
Hall will play the friend and co-worker of Johnson's character, The Chicken Man. Safdie wrote the script, based on "Lizard Music," Daniel Pinkwater's cult-classic 1976 young adult novel. The book has earned a devoted following over five decades for its surreal, offbeat storytelling and is considered one of Pinkwater's most beloved works.
Producers include UA's Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt, Out for the Count Productions' Safdie, Seven Bucks Productions' Johnson, and Magnetic Fields Entertainment's David Koplan. Production is set to begin this August in Georgia.
Black Excellence, Consistently
If you've been paying attention, this casting isn't a surprise, it's a pattern.
Regina Hall has been a working actor since the late '90s, and what stands out isn't just the longevity. It's the strategy. Hall doesn't just take roles, she picks moments. She was electric opposite Sterling K. Brown in "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.," playing a pastor's wife navigating ambition, faith, and image with a precision that made the satire land harder than it had any right to. It's the kind of performance that doesn't just showcase range, it shows judgment, an actor who knows exactly which stories are worth her time.
That instinct has only sharpened. Hall recently starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's Academy Award–winning "One Battle After Another" alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio del Toro, earning some of the best reviews of her career. She's currently part of the ensemble on Peacock's "The Five-Star Weekend" opposite Jennifer Garner, Chloë Sevigny, Gemma Chan, and Timothy Olyphant, which surpassed 1 billion viewing minutes in its first week and became Peacock's top scripted title of all time. She also just reprised her career-defining role as Brenda Meeks in "Scary Movie 6" proof she can still anchor the comedy that made her a household name decades ago.
And she's not slowing down. Up next: Nick Stoller's "Judgment Day" opposite Will Ferrell for Prime Video, and Netflix's limited series "Rabbit, Rabbit" opposite Adam Driver.
Comedy. Prestige drama. Franchise legacy. Streaming juggernauts. Hall moves through all of it without ever losing her footing, which is exactly why a Benny Safdie passion project reuniting with a producing powerhouse like Dwayne Johnson makes total sense as her next move. This is what staying power looks like when it's built on range, not just recognition.
Hall is represented by Independent Artist Group.
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