Our How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action Scoop Confirmed
A How To Train Your Dragon live-action film, first reported by Giant Freakin Robot last month, is coming in 2025.
Last month we shared an exclusive report that Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon franchise was getting a live-action movie. Today, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed our report not only is the movie happening, but the original director, Dean DeBlois, is on board. Taking a page out of the Disney playbook following the success that the House of Mouse has had with live-action remakes, we can now confirm that DeBlois is remaking the original film in live-action.
How To Train Your Dragon is already well on its way to coming back to theaters with Universal Pictures already promoting a release date of March 14th, 2025. While Dean DeBlois is writing, directing and producing the film, there is no further news on additional casting. While the trilogy of award-winning animated films featured an all-star voice cast, it’s unlikely that they will reprise their roles in the live-action remakes.
Jay Baruchel starred in How To Train Your Dragon as Hiccup the Viking that took in an injured dragon and going from a cowardly boy to a confident dragon-riding fighter by the third film’s conclusion. The supporting cast was made up of Jonah Hill (Snotlout), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Fishlegs), T.J. Miller (Tuffnut), and Kristen Wiig (Ruffnut). Though casting the Viking children will no doubt be a long process ultimately the success of the live-action adaptation will rest on the real stars of the film, the dragons.
Since the first film’s release in 2010, dragons have returned to a place of prominence in film and television thanks to the success of Game of Thrones, its prequel series House of the Dragon, and technically The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug was a hit. A huge difference with How To Train Your Dragon is that some of the beasts had cartoony designs while others were terrifying beasts. Getting separate designs to mesh in animation is an easier process than in live-action, but which side of the family-friendly coin will Universal Pictures decided to use?
That’s the second big question around the How To Train Your Dragon remakes. The last one, for now, is just how much of the story will the new films adapt? The first three films were each blockbusters and told a coming-of-age story that captivated both old and young viewers, but since then the franchise has continued to grow. With six animated series that aired on Cartoon Network, Netflix, Peacock, and Hulu, there’s plenty of extra characters, dragons, settings, and plot that could be used.
In going forward with the live-action How To Train Your Dragon Universal Pictures may have a new hit on their hands that ends up taking after the best of Disney’s remakes, including Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book. On the other hand, it may end up with the strange CGI of The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio. Most importantly, if this remake is a success, could Universal then adapt its other hit franchises into live action, such as Shrek?
Regardless of how the end result turns out, How To Train Your Dragon is coming back in live-action and a lot sooner than anyone would have expected. Expect fan casting to quickly take over social media, though we humbly suggest Gerard Butler as King Stoick the Vast and how about Stranger Things Noah Schnapp as Hiccup?
