Key Takeaways
- The live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake needs to justify its existence.
- HBO’s The Last of Us showed that successful adaptations include both new elements and faithful scenes.
- How to Train Your Dragon should expand the world of Berk and its characters.
A live-action How to Train Your Dragon has been in the works for some time now and new marketing for the movie suggests it will be a faithful remake of the original. But for a live-action How to Train Your Dragon to justify its existence, it should take a page out of HBO’s The Last of Us’ book.
Dreamworks first brought the How to Train Your Dragon franchise to life in 2010 with an Academy Award-nominated animated feature that birthed a franchise that has gone on to include multiple sequels, spin-off TV shows, and even theme park attractions. The original animated film starred Jay Baruchel as the voice of Hiccup, the Viking son of Chief Stoick (Gerard Butler), who lives in a community of dragon slayers and is expected to live up to his father’s name. This all changes when Hiccup comes across a rare Night Fury and the two form a friendship that changes the nature of the Vikings’ relationship with dragons. A live-action remake of the animated film was confirmed to be in the works in 2023, with the film’s original director Dean DeBlois returning to helm the new movie.
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How to Train Your Dragon Is Staying True to the Original
Recently Universal Pictures released the first teaser for the How to Train Your Dragon live-action film and many were blown away by just how faithful the film appears to the original. Many side-by-side comparisons of the two films show how closely the live-action film is following its source material, with some scenes being recreated shot-for-shot. If the film is seemingly not going to add anything new beyond being a live-action remake, many have raised the question of why remake it at all?
“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,” DeBlois said in a recent featurette for the film. The director added he hopes fans will tune in for the new movie as it “comes from a place of love and it comes from a place of respect.” While plenty of good adaptations are those that are faithful to the source, they can be to a fault. To avoid this, How to Train Your Dragon should follow in The Last of Us’ footsteps.
The Last of Us Was An Example of What Adaptations Should Be
When HBO announced it was making a TV series based on Naughty Dog’s successful video game The Last of Us it was met with a lot of excitement from fans, but also plenty of trepidation. Video game adaptations have never had the best track record, but releases like The Last of Us have turned the tide. The series was incredibly successful and also incredibly faithful to its source material.
Similar to How to Train Your Dragon, plenty of side-by-side comparisons showing scenes from the video game with scenes from the TV show were released, proving just how closely the series was sticking to its source. But not everything from the video game could make it into the series. For obvious reasons, the two are completely different mediums, but where possible, The Last of Us translated the key moments almost shot-for-shot. However, the series wasn’t afraid to take advantage of its medium and include things that never got air time in the game.
Some of these elements, like Bill and Frank’s story, went on to become the most highly-praised parts of the show, rewarding the creatives for branching out and providing fans with something new and different. It was the combination of faithful scenes and new material that made The Last of Us such a successful adaptation and How to Train Your Dragon could do the same.
How to Train Your Dragon Needs to Branch Out
While experiencing the How to Train Your Dragon story in live-action will no doubt evoke a similar feeling to the original, a shot-by-shot remake with new actors and real sets isn’t enough to justify the movie’s existence. Instead, How to Train Your Dragon should take this opportunity to expand on the world of Berk and its characters in a way that perhaps wasn’t afforded in the animated film. Exploring the backstory of Berk’s hatred of Dragons could be one way to do this, or even seeing more of Stoick’s feats that led to him being Chief would be a nice addition that adds to the film without changing it too dramatically. The remake also has the benefit of knowing what is to come in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and 3, meaning there’s room for the film to set up some of the plot moments explored in the later movies earlier.
How to Train Your Dragon will be released on June 13, 2025.
How to Train Your Dragon
- Release Date
- June 13, 2025
- Director
- Dean DeBlois
- Cast
- Mason Thames , Nico Parker , Gerard Butler , Nick Frost , Julian Dennison , Gabriel Howell , Bronwyn James , Harry Trevaldwyn , Ruth Codd
- Writers
- Dean DeBlois
- Studio(s)
- DreamWorks Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Franchise(s)
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Character(s)
- Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III , Astrid Hofferson , Stoick the Vast , Gobber the Belch , Fishlegs Ingerman , Snoutlout Jorgenson , Ruffnut Thorston , Tuffnut Thorston , Phlegma
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