First-Look: ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ Reimagining Now Offers ‘Jaw-Dropping Realism’
How to Train Your Dragon, an animated made by Dreamworks Animation in 2010, is being remade again as a hybrid live-action/animated film by Universal Pictures, the parent company of Dreamworks.
Universal says that the “live-action reimagining” will use “cutting-edge visual effects” to bring to life the story of Hiccup and Toothless “with jaw-dropping realism.”
Dean DeBlois, one of the directors of the original animated version, is also directing the hybrid remake. In the past day, Universal has released both a teaser trailer and behind-the-scenes looks, both of which can be seen below:
The live-action version stars Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid, with Gerard Butler as Chief Stoick the Vast (Butler also provided the voice of the character in the animated feature).
The cast also includes Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz, and Murray McArthur.
A comparison between the new trailer and the original film can be seen below:
#HowToTrainYourDragon Animated 2010 vs Live-Action 2025. pic.twitter.com/RvS3RINNav
— Fandango (@Fandango) November 19, 2024
DeBlois defended his decision to remake the film in the first-look video, saying, “I decided to revisit How to Train Your Dragon because it felt like an amazing opportunity to not only direct a live-action movie, but to be jumping back into a world that I frankly miss.”
Whether that’s sufficient justification to remake an animated film that stands well on its own, remains to be seen. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on June 13, 2025, ironically just a few weeks after Disney releases a hybrid live-action/animated remake of Lilo & Stitch, based on the 2d animated film that DeBlois directed with Chris Sanders.
In addition to directing the film, DeBlois also wrote the new How to Train Your Dragon. He is producing alongside Marc Platt (Wicked, La La Land) and Adam Siegel (Drie, 2 Guns).
