Toothless will take flight once more as Universal has announced they will be releasing a live-action big screen adaptation of DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon in 2025.
The film will be in safe hands with Dean DeBlois, who was both writer and director of the Academy Award-nominated trilogy — 2010's How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World from 2019, which wrapped up the series beautifully. All three films were nominated for Best Animated Feature by the Academy.
The series was set in the mythical Viking village of Berk, and revolved around the adventures of an eccentric teenage Viking named Hiccup, who stumbles across an injured dragon one day. Naming the dragon Toothless, the pair form an unbreakable bond that continues through the series. Unlike other animated series, the How to Train Your Dragon series featured the characters visibly aging and eventually becoming adults, which added a certain level of emotional weight to the saga.
The first film saw the bond between Hiccup and Toothless grow from curiosity to true friendship as Hiccup's taming of the Night Fury dragon unites the villagers of Berk with the dragons in their skies. The sequel saw the characters become young adults as they sought to find Hiccup's mother, Valka, while attempting to subdue a madman with world-conquering ambitions. The Hidden World wrapped up the series saw the characters deal with the lingering threat of Grimmel the Grisly, a dragon hunter who craved both Toothless and the white Night Fury dragon that Toothless wants to mate with.
The series was based on the books by Cressida Cowell, and earned more than $1.6 billion worldwide for Universal and DramWorks, as well as spawning three televisions series - DreamWorks Dragons, Rescue Riders and The Nine Realms. The franchise also produced theme park rides and a live family show in the shape of How to Train Your Dragon on Ice.
DeBlois previously worked with Disney on their immensely popular Lilo & Stitch - a live-action adaptation of that film is also in pre-production - as well as Mulan. The live-action Dragon will be produced by three-time Oscar® nominee Marc Platt (La La Land, Bridge of Spies), DeBlois and Emmy winner Adam Siegel (2 Guns, Drive).
The original trilogy starred Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig.
The live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon is set for release on March 14, 2025. In the meantime, check out the trailer for How to Train Your Dragon 2 below: