The Rock Reveals New Film Project Reason For Dramatic Weight Loss

As noted before, last week’s 2025 Venice Film Festival event in Venice, Italy featured Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson attending the premiere of The Smashing Machine. This premiere airing was notable for Johnson receiving a 15 minute standing ovation for his performance in the film from those in attendance. This premiere was also notable for Johnson revealing a new slimmer and leaner physical look.

Variety held a recent interview with Johnson at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival event. One of the topics discussed included Johnson revealing the reason for his new slimmer look is due to him portraying the role of The Chicken Man in an upcoming new film called Lizard Music.

“Benny pitched me this after, and after about 45 minutes, this pitch ended and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’ I still have a long ways to go. I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in ‘Smashing Machine.’ [It means] eating less chicken.”

It was reported that this upcoming new film is an adaptation of a Daniel Pinkwater novel and will be directed by The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie.

The plot for this upcoming film was stated to be “When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a 70-year-old chicken named Claudia — two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. 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.”