DreamWorks Plans ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Live Action Movie

‘How to Train Your Dragon Flying from Animation to Live Action for New Movie

Dean DeBlois, who wrote and directed all three of the animated movies, is returning to oversee this latest version.

Hiccup and Toothless from 'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.'

Disney had been getting a lot of mileage out of turning its animated classic canon into live-action (and usually live-action/CG mixes) with the likes of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘The Lion King’ and this year’s ‘The Little Mermaid’, it was perhaps only a matter of time before other studios decided to give it a try.

The first to step up are Universal and DreamWorks Animation, who have started work on a live-action adaptation of the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ stories.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ first took to the cine-skies in 2010 with the successful first outing, which was followed in 2014 by ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ and in 2019 with the final film in the trilogy (at least so far) ‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’.

Dean DeBlois, who wrote all three films, co-directed the first with Chris Sanders and took on the other two alone, is aboard to write, direct and produce this new film, where he’ll face the unenviable task of bringing central dragon Toothless to life in live-action, and somehow making him as charming as the beloved animated version.

How to Train Your Dragon

"One adventure will change two worlds"

PG1 hr 38 minMar 26th, 2010

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch How to Train Your Dragon Online

What’s the story of ‘How to Train Your Dragon?

Adapted from Cressida Cowell’s novel series, which saw its first book hit shelves in 2003, the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ movies focused on the special friendship between a young and unheroic Viking boy named Hiccup and Toothless, an injured dragon he nurses back to health.

Set in a Viking island-based village called Berk, the story is set in a world where humans see dragons as a problem––either a sheep-stealing nuisance or deadly threat, depending on the type of beast. We followed Hiccup and Toothless’ quest to combat humanity’s prejudice against dragons, the ache of overcoming the loss of a parent, and first love. And uniquely, the films did so by consistently aging the protagonists commensurately with the story, becoming a true coming-of-age story.

Jay Baruchel voiced Hiccup, with the supporting characters of the Viking boy’s friends, including Jonah Hill as Snotlout, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs, T.J. Miller as Tuffnut and Kristen Wiig as Ruffnut.

Aside from the core group, the movies also featured the voices of Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington and more.

Hiccup and Toothless from 'How to Train Your Dragon.'

What else is there to the franchise?

The ‘Dragon’ movies have been successful enough to spawn a wealth of merchandise (including a Build-A-Bear Toothless tie-in, clothes, games, toys and more).

And it has also generated several TV spin-offs featuring other dragon riders, which have screened on Cartoon Network, Netflix and Hulu.

Universal clearly believes this is a franchise that can make the leap, and has already planted a flag in March 14th, 2025 for the movie’s theatrical release.