DreamWorks Animation is no longer just competing with Disney in animated movies, but is now beginning to foray into making live-action versions of its past successes. As the first live-action adaptation, How To Train Your Dragon is the inaugural project in this new direction for the company.
The original trilogy of movies took their inspiration from the works of Cressida Cowell, particularly centering around the bond between a young, inauspicious Viking lad called Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and a wounded dragon, Toothless, which he helps to recover. These films explore themes such as facing the stigmas that society may cast upon dragons, grappling with the pain that comes with losing a parent, and the joys of first love. With positive reviews and success at the cinema, the film has also birthed several television spin-offs.
Director Dean DeBlois, who is responsible for the three-film adaptation, will guide the live-action version, striving to ensure Toothless looks believable as a computer-generated and actual footage character.
Universal will continue to have the distribution rights, and the movie will be released on March 14, 2025.