The live-action How to Train Your Dragon film has found its Hiccup and Astrid. And honestly, they couldn’t be more perfect. Mason Thames, most recently known for his role in the horror movie The Black Phone, will be playing Hiccup. And Nico Parker, who absolutely killed it as Sarah in The Last of Us, is set to play Astrid.
Directed by Dean DeBlois, who actually wrote the animated movies for this series, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon is based on the immensely popular series by Cressida Cowell. Across 12 books, Cowell tells the story of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. He lives in a fictional Viking world full of dragons. And his connection with Toothless changes the course of his life and everyone around him. Astrid wasn’t in the books but became part of the animated film in 2010 and the TV series that followed.
Without a doubt, there will be doubters. There will be those that think these two aren’t perfect. And to that I say, go and check out their filmography. Thames did an absolutely amazing job in The Black Phone, and by that time he only had 3 credits to his name. Acting opposite Ethan Hawke, he stole the show and met Hawke toe to toe. Looking at Hawke’s filmography, which includes Training Day and most recently Moon Knight, that’s a hard feat alone.
Then there’s Parker. Most recently she was in the HBO Max series The Last of Us, based on the immensely popular Naughty Dog game. Her version of Sarah had to act across Pedro Pascal‘s version of Joel. And again, Parker stole the show. She’s the one that made you cry, laugh, and feel like your heart was being ripped out of your chest. And if she can do that with one episode, imagine what she could do with a full movie?!
If anything, we just have to worry about Toothless. Because despite the advances in AI and computer-generated images, The Little Mermaid struggled with its live-action animals. So did The Lion King. And I worry that How to Train Your Dragon will try to do something different or something like what happened to Sonic the Hedgehog. And we don’t need that horror show again.
How to Train Your Dragon is slated for March 14, 2025 release date.
