(Left) Mason Thames as Finney Shaw in ‘The Black Phone’. (Right) Nico Parker on HBO’s “The Last of Us.” Photograph by Shane Harvey/HBO.
Continuing with its plan to keep the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise going, Universal and DreamWorks Animation took inspiration from Disney’s book and made an action movie based on the story of the first film.
And the companies have now found the actors to play the two main leads, as Mason Thames is set to be Hiccup with Nico Parker playing Astrid.
‘How to Train Your Dragon’ took off in 2010 with a successful first release, which was followed in 2014 by ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2′ and in 2019 with the final film in the trilogy (at least far)’ How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World’.
Dean DeBlois, who wrote all three films, co-directed the first with Chris Sanders and shot the other two alone, is on board to write, direct and produce this new film, where he will face the unenviable task of bringing the central dragon Toothless to life in live-action, and making it somehow as charming as the beloved animated version.
What is the story of “How to Train Your Dragon?”
Adapted from Cressida Cowell’s series of novels, which saw her first book released in 2003, the “How to Train Your Dragon” films focused on the special friendship between a young, unheroic Viking boy named Hiccup and Toothless, a dragon. wounded that he heals health.
Set in a Viking island-based village called Berk, the story is set in a world where humans see dragons as a problem — either a sheep-stealing nuisance or a deadly threat, depending on the type of beast. We followed Hiccup and Toothless’ quest to battle humanity’s prejudice against dragons, the pain of overcoming the loss of a parent, and first love. And uniquely, the films did this by constantly aging the protagonists in proportion to the story, becoming a true coming-of-age story.
Jay Baruchel voiced Hiccup, with the Viking Boy Friends supporting characters including Jonah Hill as Snotlout, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs, TJ Miller as Tuffnut and Kristen Wiig as Ruffnut, with America Ferrera as Astrid, who would become his primary love interest . interest.
Besides the main band, the films also featured the voices of Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington and more.
(L to R) Vance Hopper (Brady Hepner) and Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) in ‘The Black Phone’, directed by Scott Derrickson.
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Thames is probably best known for starring in the horror film ‘The Black Phone’ and was also seen in the Apple TV+ series ‘For All Mankind’. Then he has the high school comedy “Incoming” and a starring role opposite Mel Gibson in “Boys of Summer.”
Parker made her acting debut in another live-action animated conversion, 2019’s “Dumbo,” and has since been seen in “Reminiscence” and the HBO series “The Last of Us.”
The live-action film will fly to screens on March 14, 2025.
Nico Parker on HBO’s “The Last of Us.” Photograph by Shane Harvey/HBO.