The How to Train Your Dragon franchise has become a major cash cow for DreamWorks over the years. The first film in the series was a critical hit and a box office smash with a worldwide gross of almost $495 million, and the 2014 sequel built off of that success by generating a global box office haul of $621 million, with the franchise even spawning an animated series. All eyes are now on the third film in the franchise to continue that success when it finally debuts next year, but it also looks like we are going to have to say goodbye, as How to Train Your Dragon 3 will apparently end the series.
This announcement comes ahead of a special sneak peek at the film during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival later this year on June 14. How to Train Your Dragon 3 has officially received an announcement, with the added caveat that the next film in the franchise will also end the story of Hiccup and Toothless. Franchise lead Jay Baruchel, Thor: Ragnarok's Cate Blanchett, Geostorm's Gerard Butler, and late-night host Craig Ferguson will all reprise their previous roles and lend their voices to the film.
In addition to learning that How to Train Your Dragon 3 will round out the franchise, a title for the recently-delayed threequel has also been announced as well. Per Variety's report on the status of the project, it looks like How to Train Your Dragon 3 will debut under the title name How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, thus marking the franchise's shift to a full-blown subtitle instead of a numerical sequel.
At this time, we still don't have much information to work with in terms of concrete plot details for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Having said that, though, the knowledge that How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will end the series could offer up some exciting dramatic potential. Specifically, with writer/director Dean DeBlois fully aware that the mystical franchise will end on the third installment, there's ample room to tie things up and end the whole affair on a high note. Now it is merely a matter of waiting to see what that will actually look like when all is said and done.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is set to hit theaters next year on March 1, 2019, and CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to the film as it becomes available to us. For now, if you are on the lookout for even more information related to all of the most highly-anticipated 2018 releases, then you can head over to our full movie premiere guide and mark down your moviegoing calendars accordingly!
