Live-action ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ gets its two leading stars

As you may or may not be aware by now, How To Train Your Dragon is heading down the live-action route, and it would appear that it has now found two famous faces to play its central leads.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nico Parker has landed the role of Astrid, Hiccup’s eventual love interest and, later, wife. Parker is best known for her role as Sarah Miller in The Last of Us (2023) and Milly in Tim Burton’s Dumbo (2019). Astrid’s character had her own progressive arc through the animated trilogy. She made for a fierce warrior and a strong supporter of Hiccup. Strongest amidst her group of dragon-riding trainers, the character was voiced by America Ferrera.

The lead role of Hiccup will be played by Mason Thames, who came to prominence with his role in Scott Derrickson’s horror-thriller, The Black Phone. How To Train Your Dragon shapes up a coming-of-age for Hiccup, who Jay Baruchel voiced in the animated films. Growing from a young and scared kid, he rises to fill in his father’s shoes as Chieftain and brings the dragons and men to form an alliance.

There are still several central characters that are yet to be cast. Interestingly, the three films in the animated trilogy took leaps in time to progress the characters’ arcs.. It’s possible that would also be the case with the live-action films if the reboot ends up getting some sequels. Whether Parker and Thames would continue to play these characters in future installments or not, remains to be seen.

Though a live-action adaptation, the movie will not directly adapt the animated trilogy. Still, it will use Cressida Cowell’s source novel as the basis of the script. Meaning the live-action film can be considered something of a reboot for the trilogy.

Dean DeBlois will write and direct the new How To Train Your Dragon. He co-directed the franchise’s first animated film while directing and writing the other two installments. Given his history with the franchise, he seems to be the right person for the job. However, since he has told an extensive story based on these characters, DeBlois would need a fresh narrative to retell it in a live-action format, beginning from scratch.