Like most of us, I have a love/hate relationship with remakes. I loved the live-action remakes of The Last of Us, Maleficent, and One Piece. But I hated the live-action versions of Cruella, Mulan, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. We’re stuck in an endless cycle of remakes with Snow White and How to Train Your Dragon being the latest. But like The Last of Us, Maleficent, and One Piece, How to Train Your Dragon feels like the exception. And it’s due to many factors.
The How to Train Your Dragon animated movies are based on the books by British author Cressida Cowell. As of 2015, there are 12 books in her series. In 2010 DreamWorks then released the first animated adaptation. And two more movies followed in 2014 and 2019. We’ve also had short films, a television series that aired on Cartoon Network, and more books about this world from DreamWorks itself. Now, 6 years after the final movie of the animated feature films, we’re getting a live-action movie.
Initially, it’s easy to write off the live-action remake as a cash grab. This is what Hollywood loves to do because it’s an easy money maker. And why take risks with original storytelling when you have a guaranteed stream of money if you take a beloved series and give it a live-action twist? *rolls eyes* But How to Train Your Dragon as a live-action movie is different, and it’s not only because of the official trailer that just dropped with mirrored scenes that look like they just came out of the animated film itself. It’s about those involved behind-the-scenes.
The How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake is being written and directed by Dean DeBlois. He co-headed the story for the 1998 Disney classic Mulan and wrote the 2002 animated film Lilo & stitch and the animated series. But his biggest achievement, at least in my eyes, is that he wrote all three animated adaptations of the book series and multiple of the games. So he knows the story of Hiccup and Toothless. He knows the beats, and created the magic of these movies through an animated lens. So of course I’m going to trust him if he’s going to make a live-action remake of Cowell’s work.
Then there’s the casting of it all. I think that Mason Thames it’s a perfect Hiccup. He looks like Hiccup. And I love the fact that they brought back Gerard Butler to play his father Stoick. Perfect casting. As for Astrid, I know a lot of people have problems with her casting because racism. But personally, if the original writer/director of the animated films was okay with Nico Parker being cast as Astrid, then no one should have a problem with it. I’m looking at you people saying that Parker’s casting is a dishonor to the animated films because “it’s not historically accurate” but are ok with actual dragons.
On the producer side of things, we also have Michael A. Connolly. He was a producer on all three of the animated films from DreamWorks for this franchise. When it comes to cinematography, Bill Pope didn’t work on the animated series but he did all the work for the Matrix films and will know how to handle those huge flying scenes with the dragons and Toothless. Back to casting, that was done by Lucy Bevan. She did the casting for Hollywood blockbusters like Barbie and The Batman. And she’s got upcoming work with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and The Old Guard 2. And the art department has people who have worked on huge films from Star Wars to Dune and even The Avengers.
The final nail in the coffin of me thinking that the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake is worth it comes down to the music. John Powell, who absolutely made me bawl my eyes out with the music of the animated films, is returning for the remake. When I think of Powell I think of his music for this franchise specifically. It captured the spirit of Hiccup’s adventures with Toothless and I know that I’m going to cry in theaters watching this new remake when Powell’s music starts playing.
So yes, remakes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood in the 21st century. It’s easy money. But sometimes, the creative team behind a live-action remake comes together to create something like this. And watching the official trailer, I felt like they knew the story, honored it, and are going to introduce this beloved franchise to new fans in a different format. That’s why I’m not afraid that they’re trying to “replace” the beloved animated films with this live-action remake just because it looks super similar to the animated films. This looks like an addition that is made with love and is for the fans. And that’s enough for me.
Watch the official trailer for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon below:
How to Train Your Dragon hits theaters June 13, 2025.
