Posted in: Movies, Universal | Tagged: how to train your dragon, universal

How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action Remake Casts Hiccup And Astrid

Universal as cast Mason Thames and Nico Parker as Hiccup and Astrid in the live-action remake of How To Train Dragon.

Published Tue, 30 May 2023 15:45:09 -0500

We are only one day away from Disney taking in a relatively good box office for yet another live-action remake, along with some critical and commercial acclaim sprinkled in as well, so if there was ever a time for Universal to announce the live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon, it's now. The remake was announced in February 2023, with Dean DeBlois returning to write and direct. DeBlois is making his debut in live-action as well. One way to appease fans was bringing in DeBlois because it was clear that the franchise meant a lot to him, so they knew he would take good care of it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they have found the two leads. Mason Thames, who was excellent in The Black Phone, and Nico Parker, who really broke into the mainstream with her role on Last Of Us, have been cast as leads Hiccup and Astrid, respectively.

How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action Remake Casts Hiccup And Astrid — L-R: Mason Thames at The Black Phone Premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater IMAX on June 21, 2022, in Los Angeles, CA. Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com | Nico Parker arrives for HBO's 'The Last of Us' premiere on January 09, 2023, in Westwood, CA. Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com

Jay Baruchel voiced Hiccup in the animated films, while America Ferrera voiced Astrid. How To Train Your Dragon is unique in how it is framed, which made the search difficult. The report from THR cites that the search for the right actors "took many months with the story looking for actors who could grow into the roles as much as the characters themselves grew into maturity in the movie franchise. The franchise was unique in that each installment made jumps in the age of the protagonists to highlight life events and make it a true "coming-of-age" story."

How To Train Your Dragon Is Top Tier Dreamworks

The How To Train Your Dragon animated series is one of the best things that Dreamworks has made, full stop. The series, which is based on the books by author Cressida Cowell, began in 2010 with the first film of the same name. Over the following three films, the movie would make over $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office and spin off into five short films, three television shows, and several video games as well. The franchise has consistently received positive critical and commercial acclaim, not to mention numerous award nominations and wins. It isn't surprising that they want to make a live-action version of the franchise considering how well that has been going for Disney in the last couple of years. However, one of the things that made those films so good was the artistic direction and animation. The story was fantastic, but the look of everything really elevated it, and it will be hard to recapture that in live-action. It's set to start production this summer, provided there aren't issues with the strike, and has a release date of March 14, 2025.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!