DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures have released the first trailer for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. The third film in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise once again finds Dean DeBlois in the director’s chair and serving as the sole screenwriter for what’s intended to be the closing chapter of the series. Based on the books by Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon 3 finds Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) ascending to the role of village chief and ruler of Berk, while his dragon Toothless becomes the leader of his own kind. Their lives are thrown for a loop, however, with the arrival of a female Night Fury.

While a fourth Dragon film or potential spinoffs remain a possibility, DeBlois told us a few years ago that his intention and dedication was to completing a story with three chapters, so The Hidden World will likely at the very least conclude DeBlois’ work with this franchise after nearly a decade.

What's surprising is how finished the film looks despite being nine months away. This trailer shows almost the entire story, and while I wouldn't say it spoils the movie, it's certainly a far cry from a teaser. And yet it looks good, and Toothless is somehow even more adorable than usual. Here's hoping that the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy can go out on a high note.

Check out the How to Train Your Dragon 3 trailer below. The film also features the voices of America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington, Craig Ferguson, and F. Murray Abraham. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World opens in theaters on March 1, 2019.

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Image via DreamWorks Animation
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Image via DreamWorks Animation
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Image via DreamWorks Animation
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Image via DreamWorks Animation
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Image via DreamWorks Animation

Here’s the official synopsis for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World:

What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic trilogy spanning their lives. In this next chapter, Hiccup and Toothless will finally discover their true destinies: the village chief as ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, and the dragon as leader of his own kind. As both ascend, the darkest threat they've yet faced—as well as the appearance of a female Night Fury—will test the bonds of their relationship like never before.

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