Director Says Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon “Heftier” Than Original
This morning, Empire ran a short piece about the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake in a preview of January’s Andor issue. I really, really want to see the Andor bits of this magazine. Anyway, How to Train Your Dragon co-director Dean DeBlois – who solo-directed the sequels and now the remake – sat down with Empire to discuss the live-action adaptation. He speaks about the stakes in the remake, as well as star Mason Thames (The Black Phone). First, DeBlois’ thoughts on the differences with the live-action medium, referring to a scene in which Hiccup and Toothless play-act a fight because the people of Berk fear and hate dragons: “It’s so dialled-up in terms of stakes — having a fully credible, photo-real dragon stomping around trying to kill him.” He goes on to say Hiccup “represents all of the oddballs out there, and there are many of us,” indicating that Thames brings this energy to the role. “There was a bit of awkwardness, but also a vulnerability to him which [came] with the fact that he was 15 when we were auditioning him.” Empire also shared a brand-new image of Mason Thames as Hiccup, which you can see here:
I’ve been skeptical of this remake since I first heard of it. I love the How to Train Your Dragon movies, especially the first one. Everything from the animation to the musical score is just lovely and hits all the right beats for me. Remaking it in live-action strikes me as patronizing, as live-action adaptations of animated properties tend to do. There have been a few gems, like 2015’s Cinderella, but I would emphasize the word “few” here. And the live-action remakes that succeed differentiate themselves enough from the source material by doing something unique or original. From the image we have of Thames as Hiccup here and everything DeBlois said, I don’t get that vibe at all.
In fact, when DeBlois talks about the stakes being higher, that’s exactly what I mean about the remakes being condescending. I’m so disappointed to hear a director who has mostly worked in animation talk like this. I don’t think of live-action as having “higher stakes” or being “heftier.” I’m not sure why he would say this, aside from being instructed to do so by the studio. I bet they even hired one of the original directors to deflect the usual criticisms of these remakes, but it won’t work on me. People often talk about live-action movies and shows like they’re more serious or deeper than animation, and I resent that. That seems to be the aim of this interview – again, I mean from the studio. I doubt DeBlois thinks live-action movies are better since he has worked in animation so much, and he has a job to do in promoting this film. I think remaking a movie about Vikings with goofy names and a cute, caring dragon in photorealistic CGI and live-action is, in fact, sillier than making it in animation.
I liked The Black Phone quite a bit, which surprised me as I don’t normally like horror movies. Mason Thames was a likable lead who, along with Ethan Hawke’s terrifying villain, made it a memorable film. I have no issue with Thames or the idea of him playing Hiccup. I don’t think this remake is necessary or productive, and I think a realistic Toothless will be creepy and not as endearing as the one from the animated film. But I don’t blame actors for accepting roles; it’s their job. More than any of this, How to Train Your Dragon is a great movie; I seriously doubt they can improve on it.
But what do you think of DeBlois’ comments? Are you excited to see the remake on June 13th, 2025? Do you think young Thames is a good choice to play Hiccup? Sound off in the comments below!
Thanks again to Empire for the image!
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