Key Takeaways
- Live-action remake of “How to Train Your Dragon” will dial up the intensity and stakes for audiences.
- Despite the changes, Hiccup’s charm as the lead character will remain intact in the movie.
- The live-action remake balances intense visuals and stakes with the charm and fun of the original animation.
How to Train Your Dragon is a charming Dreamworks animation that captivated audiences and led to two sequels and a spin-off television series. Due to the humor and warmth of the characters, it’s perfect for younger viewers, but all that could be about to change as the upcoming live-action remake is set to make one noticeable tweak.
The upcoming live-action version, which is set to release on June 13, 2025, is expected to tell the same story as the original animation and will be a classic coming-of-age story that sees a young Viking called Hiccup become friends with an unexpected character in a dragon known as Toothless. That partnership has become iconic, but the live-action remake is set to make How to Train Your Dragon a little more intense.
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First How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action Trailer & Poster Revealed
Universal Pictures has revealed the first footage from the live-action remake of Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon.
Director Dean DeBlois told Empire, “It’s so dialled-up in terms of stakes. Having a fully credible, photo-real dragon stomping around trying to kill him [Hiccup].” That means audiences can expect the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon to have a little more bite than the Dreamworks animation. Even the original created some intense scenes at certain stages, but there’s only so far that can be taken, which are restraints that this movie won’t have. Plus, it should be expected that the dragons will seem slightly scarier due to the nature of this being live-action, and that should make audiences connect to everything that happens to Hiccup and the Vikings even easier.
While there is going to be one notable difference in the movie as the intensity is ramped up, audiences can still expect Hiccup to be the charming lead character he is in the animation. DeBlois explained that the character “represents all of the oddballs out there, and there are many of us.” That was clear in the first trailer that was revealed this week, as the connection between Hiccup and Toothless seemed to be as strong without being animated.
Striking a balance between dialing up the stakes and ensuring that the charm and fun of the animation remain isn’t going to be an easy task because those two ideas are essentially pulling DeBlois and his team in different directions. However, from the trailer alone it appears that has been managed, particularly with Toothless. The dragon looked visually intense and larger-than-life, which should be the case for a dragon in a movie like this. Yet even in the small clips that audiences have been able to see, Toothless’ charm and joy still shine through, ultimately making the movie appealing to younger audiences as Toothless almost acts like a pet in some ways with his behavior.
Making How to Train Your Dragon slightly more intense and filled with higher stakes is exactly what people will expect and demand from this movie. People are going into a live-action with the thought that it will be a little more adult-orientated, even though it will still be a film for the entire family. The dragons’ photo-realism will naturally raise the stakes, but that will benefit the movie and make it feel different from the animation, which is what people want from a live-action remake, even if the same story is being told.
