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Posted in: Movies, Universal | Tagged: dean deblois, film, how to train your dragon, Universal Pictures
How to Train Your Dragon Director Talks Scrapped Sequences
The director of How to Train Your Dragon reveals one sequence that was filmed and ultimately cut from the live-action adaptation.
Article Summary
- Director Dean DeBlois reveals a filmed scene was cut from the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake.
- The scrapped sequence involved Hiccup and Toothless being accosted by small dragons after the "Test drive."
- DeBlois says the deleted scene slowed the film’s pacing and repeated information already understood by viewers.
- The live-action How to Train Your Dragon is earning strong reviews and box office, with a sequel on the way.
The live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon has officially soared into theaters, bringing with it a wave of nostalgia, impressive visuals, and strong box office momentum. Released on June 13, the film opened to an $83.7 million domestic weekend and a global haul of $197.8 million, outperforming the launch of any installment in the original animated trilogy. For director Dean DeBlois, who returns to the helm after crafting the original films, translating the beloved story into live action meant not only revisiting what made the franchise popular but also reshaping it for a different style of storytelling.
And as expected, adapting such a beloved and expansive world came with its own creative hurdles. The original film, as well as the broader world of Cressida Cowell's books, offered a vast landscape of narrative material. But as DeBlois explained, not everything made it into the final version, even if it had already been shot. In a recent interview with Variety, he revealed one specific moment that was ultimately trimmed in service of the story's rhythm.
How to Train Your Dragon Director Explains Why One Scene Didn't Work
DeBlois explains, "When Hiccup and Toothless are resting after the midpoint scene of what we call the 'Test drive,' and they look to the sky together, they're accosted by little terrors that try to steal their fish. Hiccup observes that dragons are not so fireproof. In the film, it felt like it was dragging the pace down, and it was delivering information that we were already getting. It was cute, but it wasn't contributing anything, and if anything, it was actually causing it to sag in terms of its pacing."
Fortunately, that attention to pacing and narrative clarity is part of what's making the live-action version work for moviegoers. Many reviews have praised the film for walking the line between honoring the emotional core of the original while grounding its visuals and performances in a more tactile, realistic world. And given its box office performance, fans obviously agree.
Now, with strong word of mouth and solid ticket sales, it's evident why Universal has already greenlit a sequel, set for summer 2027. For a remake that could have easily felt redundant, How to Train Your Dragon instead takes flight, proving that not all remakes are built the same.
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