How to Train Your Dragon remake casts its two leads – including a Last of Us actor

How to Train Your Dragon
(Image credit: DreamWorks)

How to Train Your Dragon’s live-action remake has its two human leads – including one who will be familiar to fans of The Last of Us.

As per Deadline, Mason Thames (The Black Phone) will play franchise lead Hiccup, a Viking teenager who befriends a dragon named Toothless – despite wanting to become a dragon slayer himself.

Nico Parker will star alongside him as Hiccup’s classmate Astrid. She previously appeared as Joel’s daughter Sarah in a memorable turn during The Last of Us premiere.

How to Train Your Dragon is set to fly into cinemas on March 14, 2025. It will be based on the wildly-popular DreamWorks franchise – which spawned a billion-dollar trilogy, encompassing video games, stage shows, and a TV series. Dean DeBlois, who co-directed and co-wrote the original 2010 screenplay, will be back to helm the project and pen the script.

It follows on from a recent trend – mostly led by Disney – of animated classics being given the remake treatment. The Little Mermaid has proved a success at the box office, with Moana and Lilo & Stitch making the leap from animation to live-action in cinemas. Other Disney movies, such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, have also been given 21st Century makeovers that have proved wildly successful.

On the animation side of things, DreamWorks still has multiple projects in the works – including Kung Fu Panda 4, Madagascar 4, and a fifth Shrek movie.

For more on what’s coming your way, check out our guide to upcoming movies and the 2023 movie release dates calendar.

TOPICS
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Read more
How to Train Your Dragon trailer
New trailer for How to Train Your Dragon live-action movie is here, and it looks just as fun and emotional as the animated version
How to Train Your Dragon trailer
How to Train Your Dragon director feels like "a bit of a hypocrite" because he's always found live-action remakes "disappointing"
How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon director's "test screening" comments about the animated movie have proved controversial with fans
Shrek 5
Dune and Spider-Man star Zendaya is Shrek and Fiona’s daughter in the first meme-filled teaser for Shrek 5 and this is the happiest I’ve been since Shrek 2
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 will tell "a different version" of the story, but Neil Druckmann loves the changes they've made: "Its DNA is in there"
Daemon in House of the Dragon season 2
House of the Dragon season 3 release date speculation, cast, plot, and more news
Latest in Movies
Claymore
Over 20 years later, live-action adaptation of beloved Claymore manga and anime in development by Heroes star
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
This is Spinal Tap
First Spinal Tap 2 teaser reveals release date for comedy sequel that’s over 40 years in the making
Lea Myren as Elvira in The Ugly Stepsister
Cinderella body horror movie that made viewers sick gets release date, and it’s coming very soon
Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State
All of the Best Picture winners of the last 10 years combined still have a lower budget than the Russo brothers’ new Netflix movie
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"