Yesterday, Universal Pictures released the first official teaser trailer for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon film. Although the trailer hit all the referential high marks moviegoers have come to expect of Hollywood’s trend of making live-action remakes of beloved animated classics, a very vocal majority of folks online rebuffed the film’s entire existence. Now, a full 24 hours after the trailer’s release, the animated film and live-action film’s director has broken his silence, justifying the upcoming film as a worthwhile adventure.
In a YouTube first-look featurette, director Dean DeBlois—adorned in the world’s most comfortable-looking sweater—cuts straight to the chase, addressing why he was helming a live-action remake of the beloved DreamWorks animated film.
“I decided to revisit How to Train Your Dragon because it felt like an amazing opportunity to not only direct a live-action movie but to be jumping back into a world that I frankly miss,” DeBlois said.
The three-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe award-winning director continued to express his fondness for the series, noting his appreciation for films that weave a poignant message into their captivating adventures.
“My hope is that those who had seen and loved the How to Train Your Dragon films will be keen to see what we’ve done because it comes from a place of love and it comes from a place of respect,” he continued. “This whole thing is just one big giant adventure and I wake up every day feeling so thankful that I get to do it.”
In tandem with DeBlois’ justification for the live-action film’s existence was a heartwarming moment capturing the moment he revealed actors Mason Thames and Nico Parker got the roles of Hiccup and Astrid.
“When it comes to Nico and Mason, these two just sort of came alive in the room and suddenly I felt that they both embodied the core characters of Hiccup and Astrid live in a way that nobody else could,” DeBlois said. DeBlois’s co-signing of the two young leads couldn’t have come at a better time, considering social media has already spawned racist hate campaigns against Parker for being cast in a film about flying dragons while being Black.
The first animated How to Train Your Dragon movie, based on Cressida Cowell’s best-selling book, was released in 2010. It follows a young Viking named Hiccup who befriends a dragon named Toothless. Together, they embark on a clandestine journey, deepening their friendship while hiding their newly forged bond from Hiccup’s tribe—known for dragon slaying. The series then received two sequel films, five short films, and two TV series. Time will tell if the live-action film will measure up to the original animated film’s high bar or if it will become yet another drop in the bucket of Hollywood’s obsession with making live-action films.
How to Train Your Dragon releases in theaters June 13, 2025.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.