It’s official, DreamWorks’ How To Train Your Dragon is getting a live-action adaptation, courtesy of the animated film’s own director and writer, Dean DeBlois. Although the decision to follow in Disney’s footsteps generated some… mixed responses, to say the least, there’s no doubt that a small portion of DreamWorks fans are hyped to hear the news. Although many of Disney’s live-action projects (we’re looking at you, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and, more recently, The Little Mermaid) haven’t worked out or won the popularity contest, we’re still clinging to the hope that DreamWorks will break the cycle. So, whether we wanted it or not, for better or worse, we’re stuck with a live-action How To Train Your Dragon, so who should we cast in the lead roles? Well, here at We Got This Covered, we’ve compiled our very own fancast for the HTTYD crew (psst, Dean!).
David Mazouz / Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Perhaps best known as Bruce Wayne in Fox’s Gotham series, 21-year-old (soon to be 22) David Mazouz started out in Fox’s drama Touch, which earned him a nomination for a Young Artist Award. He also snatched up leading roles in The Games Maker and The Darkness, but he hasn’t been terribly active since 2021’s The Birthday Cake, a crime-thriller in which Mazouz portrays a younger version of Shiloh Fernandez’s character Giovanni, also known as “Gio,” who witnesses a murder at his Uncle Angelo’s house while attempting to continue the family tradition of delivering a cake to mark the anniversary of his mobster father’s passing. Mazouz was nominated for three awards for Gotham, these being two Saturn Awards for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series and a Teen Choice Awards for Choice Action TV Actor. After the success of Gotham, Mazouz is looking for his next big break, and this could be it. He’s got the looks, the acting chops and the charisma. What more could you want in a lead actor?
Freya Allan / Astrid Hofferson
English actress Freya Allan is also 21 years old, therefore a perfect counterpart to Mazouz’s Hiccup. Her claim to fame was a role as Princess Cirilla of Cintra in the Netflix series The Witcher, starring Henry Cavill. She doesn’t have a particularly extensive career, but she’s building a name for herself in the industry. Her other credits include young Sam in the 2021 film Gunpowder Milkshake and a younger version of The Widow in the AMC series Into the Badlands. In the near future, Allan will appear in an undisclosed role in 2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) that will follow Caesar’s son Cornelius, played by Owen Teague. She bares a striking resemblance to Astrid, doesn’t she? That’s a pretty good sign that she’s the lady for the job.
Dean-Charles Chapman / Snotlout
Sticking around the 21-26 age range, English actor Dean-Charles Chapman is a man of many talents. He started out in 2005 as the longest-serving Billy Elliot in the West End theatre production of Billy Elliot the Musical, then migrated from stage to screen with roles as Charlie in the sitcom Cuckoo, Martyn Lannister and later Tommen Baratheon in HBO’s Game of Thrones, and even a spell as Castor in Into the Badlands, co-starring our Astrid pick, Freya Allan. Chapman hasn’t been too busy in the film world, but his most notable role would probably be Lance Corporal Thomas Blake in the award-winning 1917 or Matthew Connolly in Here Are the Young Men, starring opposite Anya Taylor-Joy. That British charm will do wonders for Snotlout, who’s known to have a reputation with the ladies.
Luke Eisner / Tuffnut
He might not be as famous as some other names on this list, but Luke Eisner has garnered a significant following for his role as Swedish exchange student Stig Mohlin in Tall Girl, a teen romantic-comedy about Jodi Kreyman (Ava Michelle), a self-conscious 16-year-old who’s incredibly tall for her age and therefore lives in the shadow of her older sister Harper, who’s an average height and has won several beauty pageants. In 2022, Eisner reprised his role for Tall Girl 2, wherein Jodi is dating her life-long friend Jack Dunkleman. It looks like — for now — Eisner’s schedule is nice and empty, so there’s no reason as to why he wouldn’t be available to tackle the role of Tuffnut, which would perhaps be his most ambitious achievement yet.
Saoirse Ronan / Ruffnut
She’s Saoirse Ronan. Who doesn’t know her by name? The 28-year-old American-Irish actress has already dazzled audiences with several groundbreaking roles, including one of her most recent stints as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson in Lady Bird, which was named one of the best films of the 2010s as well as snagging five nominations at the 90th Academy Awards and going on to win two awards—Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy (for Ronan). If she isn’t immediately familiar (which is a real travesty), you might recognize Ronan as Mary, Queen of Scots in the historical drama of the same name (co-starring our very own Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie) or perhaps Josephine in Little Women. Her most recent endeavor was Constable Stalker in See How They Run, alongside Sam Rockwell and Adrian Brody. Those bright blue eyes are very reminiscent of Ruffnut, no?
David Harbour / Stoick the Vast
When he isn’t Stranger Things‘ Jim Hopper, he’s taking down a band of mercenaries as jolly old Saint Nick in Violent Night. He’s the man, the myth, the legend — David Harbour. Marvel fans will know Harbour as the Red Guardian from the Black Widow movie, but universal audiences will forever remember him as Stranger Things‘ lovable cop. His big, luxurious beard is extremely Stoick-like, and we’ve seen him play Santa Claus, so is that really much different? Lily Allen’s husband of three years had supporting roles in War of the Worlds (2005), Awake (2007), Revolutionary Road (2008) — among others — before he signed a deal with Netflix to undertake one of their most profitable shows ever. He will reprise his role as Red Guardian in 2024’s Thunderbolts, but after that, maybe he’ll be free to portray a certain Chief of Berk.
Jacob Batalon / Fishlegs Ingerman
You know him as Ned Leeds, Spider-Man’s “Guy in the Chair” as he calls himself. He debuted as Ned in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming alongside Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Zendaya’s MJ, then reprised the role for cameos in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), then got promoted to a lead role again for Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). In the 2019 romantic comedy from Netflix, Let It Snow, he portrayed Keon. In addition, he landed the main part as Reginald in Syfy’s Reginald the Vampire series, which was renewed for a second season in January 2023. The 26-year-old from Honolulu, Hawaii, certainly made his presence known to the Marvel fanbase, but he’s well overdue for a mainstream role to extend his moment in the spotlight. Not only that, but he’s just as friendly and charming as Fishlegs himself. That’s a match made in fan-cast heaven.
Kristopher Hivju / Gobber
Game of Thrones fanatics might be familiar with Kristopher Hivju, but the rest of the world? Not to much. Coming in at 6ft tall, it’s no wonder that Hivju has made a reputation out of playing giant-esque characters, such as Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones and Connor Rhodes in The Fate of the Furious. He’s got the bulk to pull off Gobber, but he might be a tad too tall for the role. Regardless, some camera trickery could fix that, right? There’s also the method of slouching, which could never hurt. Besides that, he looks just like Gobber and he’d be an absolute steal to cast alongside David Harbour’s Stoick. Imagine the fun those two would have on set! The Norwegian actor will be appearing in an undisclosed role in Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear, which is based on the true story of a black bear who ingested a duffel bag full of cocaine. In real life, the bear died from an overdose and its body was displayed in a mall in Kentucky. Freaky. Anyway, Hivju for Gobber!
Randy Thom / Toothless
He even looks a little like Toothless, doesn’t he? All jokes aside, Randy Thom is our Toothless, no doubt about it. For those who are unaware, Thom actually provided the ‘voice’ for Toothless in the animated How To Train Your Dragon series. Originally a sound designer and re-recording mixer for countless projects including Shrek 2, Despicable Me, Rio, The Polar Express and more, Thom acted as the vocal effects for Toothless, as well as fine-tuning the sounds for the other dragons, such as roars. He’s already established himself as Toothless, so why not bring him back again? We’re assuming that Toothless will be CGI-generated for the live-action version, so Thom is more than capable of returning to reprise his role and at least help DreamWorks keeps some originality.
Emily Blunt / Valka
Now, we don’t actually meet Hiccup’s mother Valka until How To Train Your Dragon 2, but we might as well include her on the list. Emily Blunt is a jill-of-all-trades; there’s really nothing she can’t do. Where do we even begin? Her filmography is so intimidating. She kick-started her career with The Devil Wears Prada, alongside Meryl Streep, which then led to an endless stream of projects; Edge of Tomorrow, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Girl on the Train, A Quiet Place, and even Mary Poppins Returns. The list goes on and on! There’s really no end to Blunt’s talent, plus, she’s make quite a fitting addition to the cast on the arm of David Harbour’s Stoick. Just don’t tell her husband of 13 years, John Krasinski.
And there you have it. That’s our picks for the live-action How To Train Your Dragon, which has been slated for a Mar. 14, 2025 release.
