Universal Pictures is already in deep development for a How to Train Your Dragon live-action movie with Dean DeBlois directing. In fact, official announcements indicate that the new movie will be casting its lead actors very soon.
It’s already been revealed the movie will be released in cinemas on March 14th, 2025. As this will be a live-action version, it is expected to be an adaptation of the original animated trilogy. While the fantastical and animated world of Vikings and dragons cast a spell on the audience, we cannot help but wonder what the live-action version would be like.
How To Train Your Dragon In Live-Action Coming 2025
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The Hollywood Reporter notes that much like what Disney has been doing with their animated classics; Universal Pictures is planning to reintroduce the charming Viking story to audiences around the globe. Making a live-action version of the popular franchise is yet another endeavour that some fans say they didn’t ask for.
Then again, movies do get remade and updated to suit contemporary generations even before Disney did them. Hopefully, the live-action adaptation could still capture the magic that the original animated movies accomplished. There is a big chance of succeeding in this task because the company kept the person behind the trilogy on board.
Three-time Oscar-nominated director Dean DeBlois is best known for the animated trilogy itself. He also directed Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, another beloved animated franchise of the House of Mouse.
So far, DeBlois has a dependable track on delving into a beloved series or franchise. On the other hand, this project will be his first-ever live-action production. However, there is a feeling of ‘treading unknown grounds’ for the filmmaker.
Joining DeBlois for his live-action debut as a producer is Marc Platt. Platt has already had some experience in the live-action field have worked on the 2021 movie Cruella starring Emma Stone.
Cruella is the live-action adaptation of the villain from the 1961 animated movie 101 Dalmatians. The movie featured the character’s younger years. Consequently, 101 Dalmatians also had its own live-action adaptation in 1996, with Glenn Close portraying Cruella De Vil.
Another project that updated a classic character under Platt’s belt is the 2018 feature film Mary Poppins Returns. The movie has a rating of 6.7/10 on IMDb and generated a worldwide box office record of $349M from a $130M budget.
Platt’s insights into theatrical shows will also benefit the production of How To Train Your Dragon live-action. Thus, even though not a lot of people consider it is time for the franchise’s renewal, there is a growing hope that they will be able to succeed in making it happen.
How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action Casting Soon
Credit: Dreamworks
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The books that Cressida Cowell wrote made the screen adaptation of How To Train Your Dragon possible. It showcased the unlikely friendship of a Viking lad and a Dragon in a world where one is actually an enemy of the other.
Actors for the characters will have their work cut out for them. The production alone will have a huge task of re-introducing the world of the Vikings. The islands and even just the Viking town of Berk would have to have a certain magical feel to them. The fact that those towers and huts are just about to collapse but seem to be sturdy, it’s evidence enough that the Vikings are magic themselves.
The trilogy is also a coming-of-age story for both Hiccup and Toothless. As his mother pointed out in the second movie, they are both of the same age, which is why they bonded pretty quickly. Both characters developed from their adventurous youthful selves trying to prove their worth into adults responsible for their respective families and clans.
I particularly appreciate the story that the Dragon movies showed about Hiccup’s parents as well. The second movie brought me to tears when finally, they found each other again, only to be apart once more.
The How To Train Your Dragon movies are about love, joy, loss, friendship, valiance, responsibility, and much much more. It succeeded in telling life-long lessons that many other franchises could only attempt. Bringing these into live action will be a considerable challenge.
Do you think the time has come for a live-action How To Train Your Dragon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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