Fans react to Toothless in trailer for live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon
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On Tuesday, Universal released the first teaser trailer for its eagerly awaited live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon, which elicited a variety of responses from fans.
Dean DeBlois, the writer and director known for the animated How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, is coming back to work on the live-action film.
The movie aims to recreate the 2010 version scene by scene, which itself was inspired by a children's book series with the same name written by Cressida Cowell.
The trailer for the live-action adaptation features a mix of familiar characters and new ones. Mason Thames takes on the role of Hiccup, with Nico Parker portraying Astrid. They are accompanied by Gerard Butler as Hiccup’s father, Stoick the Vast, along with Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz, and Murray McArthur.
"On the rough island of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been arch rivals for ages, Hiccup is different from everyone else," the movie summary explains. "As the imaginative but underestimated child of Chief Stoick the Vast, Hiccup breaks long-standing customs when he forms a friendship with Toothless, a dreaded Night Fury dragon. Their unexpected connection uncovers the real character of dragons and questions the very core of Viking culture."
Responses to the trailer have varied. While a lot of fans are thrilled that Toothless in the live-action version resembles the dragon from the animated movies, others have raised concerns about the purpose of the remake if every scene is nearly the same.
Nico Parker being cast as Astrid prompted a TikTok user to raise concerns about "race-swapping." They pointed out that Astrid is portrayed as a Viking in the original animated movie, while Parker, who is biracial, could be seen as altering that historical representation.
Many individuals have responded to the TikTok video by pointing out that the movie is inspired by a children's book featuring dragons, rather than being based on an actual historical occurrence.
The How to Train Your Dragon series received four Academy Award nominations and made over $1.6 billion worldwide. Following the release of the first movie in 2010, the sequels, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, came out in 2014 and 2019, respectively.
The theatrical release of the live-action adaptation is scheduled for June 13, 2025.
