Get ready to ride, because How To Train Your Dragon is getting a live-action reboot and it’s coming soon.
The 2025 movie schedule is filled to the brim with hot anticipated new releases, and one that everyone is looking forward to is the live-action How To Train Your Dragon. The franchise is one of the biggest IP’s over at DreamWorks, and now it seems the famous movie company is going the Disney live-action remake route, where they're taking beloved animated franchises and doing them in live action.
So far, How To Train You Dragon is the first, and from what has appeared so far, I have a feeling it’s going to be just as energetic as when you first hear John Powell’s HTTYD score. Let’s get into it.
What Is The Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Release Date?
How To Train Your Dragon has a set release date of June 13, 2025.
Initially, it was supposed to come out in March 2025, but it was pushed back because of the SAG-AFTRA strike that was going on in 2023. The good news? It wasn't pushed back that long, and fans should be able to check out the blockbuster in the summer instead of the spring.
An extra good part is that How To Train Your Dragon is coming out at the perfect time for the summer. Why? Because so many other 2025 blockbusters are coming out that time, but either before or after the release date. For example, the upcoming Thunderbolts* will be released in the very beginning of May. The next DC film, Superman: Legacy, will come out on July 11, 2025. The next Jurassic World movie – Jurassic World Rebirth – comes out on July 2.
But How To Train Your Dragon releases at a prime slot between these huge films, with a few good weeks to earn a crazy amount of money. In fact, the only other major film that is set to release that same weekend is the next Pixar film, Elio, but because that isn’t an already established IP, I don’t think that’s going to do nearly as well as How To Train Your Dragon.
With this release date locked in, I’m so eager to see this world brought to life – and thankfully, we already have a first glimpse down below.
Check Out The How To Train Your Dragon Teaser Trailer
If you’re a fan of this franchise and can’t wait to see what the live-action looks like, we have you covered, because a teaser has already come out.
It features our stellar cast in very similar attire from the animated film, and a fully live-action Toothless! Truthfully, one of my biggest gripes with these live-action remakes is that often, it doesn’t feel like it has the same emotion or feeling as its animated counterpart. Or, the animals don’t look good.
But ya’ll, Toothless looks amazing. I mean, I legit want to hop into this trailer and take a ride on his back across all of Berk. It’s kind of mesmerizing and it makes me so eager to see how they somehow brought these dragons to life when they don’t even exist in our lifetime.
The How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action Cast
With a live-action movie as anticipated as this one, you better believe that the How To Train Your Dragon cast is already stellar. Here is who will be appearing in the live-action film:
- Mason Thames as Hiccup, an awkward viking and the rider of Toothless.
- Nico Parker as Astrid, a fellow dragon trainer and Hiccup’s love interest.
- Gerard Butler as Stoick, Hiccup’s father and the chieftain of Berk
- Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch, the blacksmith of Berk.
- Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, a young viking who knows a lot about dragon lore.
- Gabriel Howell as Snotlout, a cocky dragon-training classmate of Hiccup’s.
- Bronwyn James as Ruffnut, a dragon-training classmate and the twin of Tuffnut.
- Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut, another dragon-training classmate and the twin of Ruffnut
- Ruth Codd as Phlegma, a female Viking.
This cast already is what dreams are made of. Pretty much every single one of these young actors have appeared in so many amazing projects, from The Black Phone to the HBO series The Last of Us to Deadpool 2.
If you’ve seen the original How to Train Your Dragon movies, you know that it’s mainly about watching the classmates of Berk’s dragon-training school and seeing how they adapt to working and partnering with dragons instead of hurting them, growing from teenagers to young men and women. All of these acting choices are great picks – I’m already here for Hiccup and Astrid.
Another casting decision I just love is Gerard Butler as Stoick – because he literally voiced the character in the original movies. The films themselves had some incredible voice actors behind them, like Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and more, but Gerard Butler was also always there to voice Stoick, and now he’s back in live-action form.
In fact, Butler even spoke about his time filming on set to Collider in November 2024, commenting on the freezing temperatures of where they filmed and how he felt none of it because of the amount of costume he was wearing to fully represent Stoick:
So, at five in the morning, my [physical therapist] — because I'm like, 'I'm not going to put the ice in the bath,' — would come in and fill my bath with ice, and I would get in this ice bath, but outside it would be dark with wind blowing, soaking wet. You know how freezing it was. At least if you're doing an ice bath and you're in LA it's a blue sky. This was like, 'I am going out into that’... I had seven layers, thick layers, and a thick beard, and then I had a kind of bearskin or wolfskin over it. It was heavy as sh*t….when I had my sword and my shield and the helmet, which was heavy, and all those layers with the clasps that went around, it was 90 pounds, my costume. I was, in the middle of the coldest day, soaking wet from sweat inside because it was like a furnace in there.
That kind of dedication earns my love and now, I’m even more excited. It makes me wonder if Stoick is going to be a bigger part of the franchise as a whole. He was already a huge influence on Hiccup in the animated movies, but could we be seeing more of him this time around? I hope so!
What The Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Is About
If you've gotten this far, you know that the How To Train Your Dragon live-action movie is based on the trilogy of the same name from DreamWorks animation. The film franchise, which was based on the book of the same name by Cressida Cowell, followed the story of Hiccup, a well-meaning but unheroic Viking who befriends an injured dragon named Toothless, with the two of them coming together to show that dragons and humans can get along.
The movie trilogy was a classic coming-of-age story that detailed common themes such as falling in love, losing family members, learning to lead, and so much more and was beloved by many. And of course, there were dragons – which is always a plus.
But don’t expect the film to be entirely like the original. Nico Parker (Astrid) did say to Collider in February 2024 that she believes the movie is “its own thing” which isn’t that shocking. Most live-action movies tend to veer in a different direction to make it stand out.
In fact, even the director himself, Dean DeBlois, commented in an interview with Empire that in order to make it better in live-action, that they would be “dialing” up the stakes to make it even more intense, especially with the dragons. And then, Gerard Butler spoke to The Direct, where the Den of Thieves actor openly said that the dragons are going to be scarier this time around:
When a dragon is breathing fire over a bunch of actual Viking men and women running, it feels a lot more scary than when it was animated. You have a little more you can distance yourself, but this feels much more involved and just immersive.
To me, that is a little concerning, but honestly, I’m not too nervous. It’s not like he’s wrong – anytime dragons are involved, things can get a little heated (pun intended), so if the scary-factor is upped just a bit, I’m cool with that.
As long as it still has the heart and soul of the original movies, there’s not much we can complain about. And the fact that the original director of the animated franchise is back for the live-action makes me even more okay with this.
Dean DeBlois Directed, Wrote, And Produced The Film
Dean DeBlois directed, wrote, and co-produced the new live-action How To Train Your Dragon movie – and yes, this is a big deal.
I feel like with most live-action remakes, we never get the same kind of film because half the time, the original creators aren’t involved. But this time around, Dean DeBlois actively came back and made this whole new movie for another generation – and it makes me even more eager to watch this.
Not only did Dean DeBlois direct these films, he was also one of the co-directors of the Lilo & Stitch movie that was released back in 2002 (which, ironically, is also getting a live-action remake this year). Both that and HTTYD are beloved by all…so I have full faith DeBlois will bring the heat with this movie.
What are you looking forward to with the How To Train Your Dragon live-action film? I'll need to rewatch those movies to fall in love with Toothless again – and get even more excited now that we know what he looks like in live-action! I think it’s time to take to the skies once more.
