There are plenty of movies slated to drop this year, but fewer have more box office potential than the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragon, which has been set for release on June 13. The film is a remake of the classic 2010 DreamWorks movie of the same name that earned nearly perfect scores of 99% from critics and 91% from audiences onRotten Tomatoes, and it will see some classic actors likeGerard Butlerreturn to their roles, while others such asJay Baruchelis being replaced byMason Thamesin the role of Hiccup. During a recent interview withThe Direct, Butler provided an update on the upcoming iteration and also spoke about what the creators can accomplish in live-action that they can’t with animation:
“I just saw a rough cut. So there really were maybe 20% special effects done. And I get goosebumps when I think about it. It was so amazing and so powerful. And then you see parts of it where they are closer to being done, andyour jaw just drops.
And the best way for me to describe it is, I made three of those movies over many years, and I always wondered, I love the animated movies, but I always wondered,‘God, what if this was real? What if we were really there, real people, real dragons?‘And we had a chance to do that, to make it real. And I think that is one of the main differences.
When a dragon is breathing fire over a bunch of actual Viking men and women running,it feels a lot more scary than when it was animated. You have a little more you may distance yourself, but this feels much more involved and just immersive…
I’m so excited to see how it is when it’s finished because I think every second is going to be precious.”
The live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmovie has not yet received an official rating, but it it expected to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor with a PG rating, despite being more scary. However, if there are dragons flying around and breathing fire on real people, it’s possible that the film may end up earning a PG-13 rating to account for the uptick in violence. Nonetheless, the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmovie is still flush with the potential to be one of the biggest movies of the year, especially after we’ve now seen live-action remakes such asThe Lion King(2019) andMufasa: The Lion King(2024) earn a haul in theaters. OriginalHow to Train Your DragondirectorDean DeBloisis back to helm the live-action film and he will also pen the script.
Who Else Will Star in the Live-Action ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ Movie?
In addition to Gerard Butler and Mason Thames,Nico Parkerhas also been tapped for the role of Astrid in the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmovie. Parker is best known for starring as Sarah Miller inThe Last of Us, and she also featured alongsideHugh JackmanandRebecca FergusoninReminiscence.Deadpool 2veteranJulian Dennisonwill also star inHTTYDas Fishlegs, withSkeleton CrewstarNick Froststarring as Gobber. Other names attached to star in the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmovie includeGabriel Howell,Harry Trevaldwyn,Ruth Vodd,Murray McArthur,Samuel Johnson, andNick Cornwall.
The live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmovie will hit theaters on June 13. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates and watchHow to Train Your Dragon(2010) onNetflix.
