Gerard Butler will be returning to the How To Train Your Dragon franchise for its live-action remake. Butler who previously voiced village chief Stoick the Vast in the animated features will be reprising the role.
The live-action remake is currently slated to bow in theaters, June 13, 2025. Due to this Summer's SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike, the film was delayed from its original March 14, 2025 release date. Currently, Pixar's Elio is set to also be released on June 13, 2025. Two weeks later, Disney's live-action Moana remake will also hit theaters.
Dean DeBlois, the writer and director of all three animated How To Train Your Dragon films, has agreed to write and direct the live-action remake.
Mason Thames, who most recently appeared in The Black Phone, will play Hiccup. Astrid will be played by Nico Parker (daughter of Thandie Newton), who played Sarah Miller in The Last of Us.
The film franchise is based on Cressida Cowell's award-winning children's book series. It has grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide.
The animated movie centers on Hiccup, a young Viking who becomes friends with Toothless the dragon. The Vikings of Berk, Hiccup's clan, have been at battle with dragons for many years, but Hiccup questions these customs and learns that dragons are not as terrifying as many believe them to be.
The film series has been acclaimed for depicting Hiccup and Toothless' connection and demonstrating how friendship can transcend prejudice and fear. The film franchise is also appreciated for Hiccup's transformation into a hero who stands up for what he believes in even when everyone else is against him.
How To Train Your Dragon Official Synopsis: A winning mixture of adventure, slapstick comedy, and friendship, How to Train Your Dragon rivals Kung Fu Panda as the most engaging and satisfying film DreamWorks Animation has produced. Hiccup (voice by Jay Baruchel) is a failure as a Viking: skinny, inquisitive, and inventive, he asks questions and tries out unsuccessful contraptions when he's supposed to be fighting the dragons that attack his village.
His father, chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), has pretty much given up on his teenage son and apprenticed him to blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson). Worse, Hiccup knows the village loser hasn't a chance of impressing Astrid (America Ferrera), the girl of his dreams and a formidable dragon fighter in her own right. When one of Hiccup's inventions actually works, he hasn't the heart to kill the young dragon he's brought down. He names it Toothless and befriends it, although he's been taught to fear and loathe dragons.