Dreamworks Animation will be saying goodbye to arguably its best franchise ever, How to Train Your Dragon, in early 2019. The final movie in the trilogy is called How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. It's coming to theaters in February and -- as is often the case with finales -- fans are in for some tears. But they'll be good tears! Lead voice actor Jay Baruchel previewed how fans will feel by the end of the third movie:
I think they're gonna be simultaneously sad and satisfied.
How to Train Your Dragon follows young Viking leader Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and the close bond he shares with his dragon Toothless. Their friendship is the core of the whole series but the third film, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, might be their ultimate test.
In the film, Hiccup and Toothless discover a hidden world of dragons. They are forced to battle a dangerous new enemy who seeks to destroy the peaceful human and dragon utopia they've built. The presence of a potential mate for Toothless also adds an interesting wrinkle to the mix.
It's been nearly nine years since the first film. The franchise has subsequently launched short movies, animated TV series, and sequels. The last film is just over the horizon and fans may want to get their tissues ready. Jay Baruchel -- who likewise will be saying goodbye to the franchise -- told GameSpot that the ending might be sad, but it will leave fans feeling satisfied.
We can only guess at the moment what that means, but fans might not be the only ones saying goodbye; Toothless and Hiccup could be parting ways as well. (Quietly holds back tears.)
Producer Brad Lewis echoed Jay Baruchel's statement, saying that the nature of a good finale is to leave the audience feeling torn between emotions:
Like all great endings, there's bittersweet aspects to it. There's things that you're happy about, things that you wish emotionally that were really tough to accept. But that's, you know... if we can do that to an audience, then we've really done our job.
All of this is to say that fans of the franchise should gear themselves up for one hell of a finale. In addition to playing up the sweetness and goofiness of the series, the trailers also lay down the stakes, and it'll be very interesting to see how this beloved franchise comes to a close.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to see how it's all going to end. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is all set to release on February 22, 2019. To learn about all the other big movies set to arrive in theaters next year, be sure to visit our 2019 movie release schedule.
