With many wondering why DreamWorks chose to adaptHow to Train Your Dragoninto live-action, the studio’s teaser trailer confirms a major fear about the upcoming remake. Announced in February 2023, the new movie has been in the works for around two years.The project is recalling writer/director Dean DeBlois, who has been one of the most heavily involved creatives with theDragonsmovie franchise to date. Those familiar with the original will probably experience very few surprises when watching the live-action version, begging the question of why alive-actionHow to Train Your Dragoncasthas been assembled.
The animatedHow to Train Your Dragonmovies and TV showscreate a sprawling saga of the shifting dynamic between the franchise’s Vikings and their scaly adversaries-turned-allies. However, the upcoming remake won’t slot into the vast continuity that already exists but instead appears to be starting from scratch.DreamWorks isn’t the first studio to explore this avenue with an existing movie or franchise, but adapting this particular story has resulted in many raised eyebrows for several reasons. With so many exciting stories andfights across theDragonsfranchisealready, it’s unclear what a remake could offer.
How To Train Your Dragon’s Live-Action Remake Just Looks Like A Shot-For-Shot Remake Of The Original
The 2025 Dragons movie has been faithful to a fault
DreamWorks has finally revealed its first substantial look at its live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmovie, and it looks as though the remake has chosen to be painfully faithful to the original. Although the teaser is only a minute or so long, it still manages to reveal a handful of recreated shots from the 2010 movie of the same name. While remakes can often be criticized for straying too far from the source material, the upcoming 2025 effort appears to have played it far too safe.
2010
99%
2014
92%
2019
90%
$521.7M
*Figures viaBox Office Mojo
There are several moments from the trailer that have a direct counterpart in the original movie, including Hiccup’s success in allowing Toothless to place his hand on his face for the first time. While it’s great that iconic moments such as these are being left largely intact, if every shot mimics the 2010 effort,the decision to remakeHow to Train Your Dragonfalls even further under the microscope.
The Point Of A Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Movie Is Even Less Clear Now
DreamWorks' decision to remake its 2010 movie doesn’t seem to include anything new
With the first movie only being released fourteen years ago, it feels far too soon to adapt it for live-action. This feels especially true when the third and final movie,How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, premiered as recently as 2019. If a live-actionDragonsproject has to be made, it would surely make more sense to add to the existing canon rather than retreading the same narrative ground not only so precisely, but also soon after the original saga’s cinematic conclusion. In short,DreamWorks' big reveal of their upcoming project has raised more questions than it answered.
All threeHow to Train Your Dragonmovies have been hits at the box office, so it could be that DreamWorks' decision to reimagine the franchise from the beginning is largely a financial decision rather than a creative one.
Disney is the studio most known for making live-action adaptations of its movies. However,Disney’s live-action movie remakesgenerally happen decades after the original animated version was released, and the story often feels renewed and looks very different. For example,1994’sThe Lion Kingwasn’t given the live-action treatment until 2019, marking a 25-year gap between the original and the remake. Plus, Disney’s focus on the lions looking as realistic as possible in the 2019 effort creates a major separation from the 1994 version - even if they are still talking animals. Of course,Moana’s live-action remake is an outlier here.
Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Looks Great Visually, At Least
DreamWorks hasn’t cheaped out on the movie’s production values
At present,there appears to be very little advantage to watching 2025’sHow to Train Your Dragonover the original. That being said, at least DreamWorks appears to be putting a lot of effort into making what is essentially a replacement look absolutely amazing from a visual perspective. Not only does Gerard Butler look great as Stoick as he comes back to reprise his role in live-action, but the movie has also avoided falling into a common trap many other remakes of this nature can fall into.
How To Train Your Dragon’s Live-Action Toothless Design Eases A Major Concern
The first look at Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon’s teaser trailer should ease many of the design concerns of hardcore franchise fans.
The movie’s titular beasts, including Hiccup, have remained pretty much unchanged from a design point of view. The dragons have simply upgraded to align a little more with their new surroundings. Things like their scales are more visible, and more clearly defined, and the beasts generally just look as realistic as they can without losing their signature cartoonish aesthetic. Givenhow bad the original Sonic the Hedgehog lookedin his 2020 movie before the animators were pressured into a redesign, it’s a huge relief to seeHow to Train Your Dragonhasn’t made the same misguided move.
How to Train Your Dragon
Cast
How to Train Your Dragon, released in 2025, depicts the story of Hiccup, a young Viking who defies tradition on the isle of Berk by befriending Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their friendship uncovers the true nature of dragons, challenging entrenched Viking perceptions and societal norms.
