[
EXCLUSIVE: Grammy-winning global superstar Raye is coming on to Benny Safdie’s next film Lizard Music to not only voice one of the characters but to also compose original music for the United Artists live-action/CGI hybrid film. She joins previously announced star and producer Dwayne Johnson, Theo Leber, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi, Regina Hall, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams, David Krumholtz, and Andrew Dice Clay.
The film will be released in theaters December 25, 2027. Safdie wrote the script, which is based on the Daniel Pinkwater novel of the same name.
Producers include UA’s Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt, Out for the Count Productions’ Benny Safdie, Seven Bucks Productions’ Dwayne Johnson, and Magnetic Fields Entertainment’s David Koplan.
The film will follow a boy (Leber) left to his own devices who 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 an eccentric and whimsical old man nicknamed The Chicken Man (Johnson), and his beloved companion, an 85 year-old chicken named Claudia – the boy and the old man, become 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.
Since debuting in 2014, four-time Grammy Award-nominated musician has charted 21 Top 40 UK singles and amassed over 10 billion Spotify streams. In 2024, she made UK music history at the BRIT Awards, winning a record six trophies in a single night and becoming the first woman named Songwriter of the Year, with her debut album My 21st Century Blues taking Album of the Year. Her 2026 sophomore album This Music May Contain Hope won the Mercury Prize, marked her first UK No. 1 album, and debuted Top 10 across 16 territories, highlighting her evolution as an independent artist, songwriter, composer, producer, and arranger.
Closing out 2026 by headlining Spilt Milk festivals across Australia, Raye has just announced This Symphony May Contain Hope. Live From Seven World Wonders, bringing her orchestral production to China, Switzerland, Italy, the US, Australia, and Ghana, with further details to be announced December 10, 2026.
She is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and The Team.
https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Raye-and-Benny-Safdie-1500.jpg?w=1024
https://deadline.com/2026/10/raye-voice-role-lizard-music-benny-safdie-composing-1237209560/
Justin Kroll
Almontather Rassoul
