Wasting no time, Universal Pictures has now announced a release date for a live-action remake ofHow to Train Your Dragon 2, two months before the upcoming live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonopens in theaters. The remake of the beloved 2010 animated classic has become one of the most anticipated movies of the summer movie season for 2025. Original film co-director Dean DeBlois returns to helm the film, which will star Mason Thames (The Black Phone) as Hiccup, Nico Parker (Dumbo) as Astrid, and Gerard Butler reprising his role as Stoick from the animated films.
During the Universal Pictures presentation atCinemaCon, the studio confirmedHow to Train Your Dragon 2will be released in theaters on June 14, 2025.How To Train Your Dragon 2will be both a sequel to the upcoming 2025 film and a remake of the 2014 animated filmHow To Train Your Dragon 2. News ofHow to Train Your Dragon 2came hours after Universal Pictures had previewedHow to Train Your Dragonto the press at CinemaCon, wherethe early word of mouth on the film was largely positive.
Even with 2027 still some way away, the year is already starting to take shape.How to Train Your Dragon 2will open in theaters one week after the recentlyannouncedSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. An untitled Pixar film is slated for release the week after, with many expecting it could be the previously announcedIncredibles 3.
‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ Marks a Turning Point
While Disney has done follow-ups to their live-action remakes, films likeAlice Through the Looking Glass,Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, andMufasa: The Lion Kingwere original stories and underperformed compared to their predecessors.How to Train Your Dragon 2is the first time one of these live-action remakes has gotten a sequel that is also a remake itself. This means audiences are going into the sequel with a certain level of knowledge and expectations, particularly withHow to Train Your Dragon 2being considered one of the best animated sequels ever made. It will be interesting if the live-action film has Cate Blanchett reprise her role as Hiccup’s long-lost mother, Valka Haddock.
How to Train Your Dragonis one of two live-action remakes of animated films originally directed by Chris Sanders, asLilo & Stitchwill open three weeks prior. It will certainly be interesting to see how both perform at the box office, particularly as the sentiment of audiences growing tired of live-action remakes seems to be a question on many people’s minds. IfHow to Train Your Dragonwere to somehow bomb at the box office, Universal Pictures could pull the plug on the sequel, but all signs point to the film being moderately profitable.
While Disney has been enjoying 15 years of live-action remakes, to mixed box office success,How to Train Your Dragonand its upcoming sequel might mark a new era where Universal Pictures might mineDreamWorks' animated libraryfor live-action films. Films likeTrollsorKung Fu Pandamight not lend themselves to live-action remakes, but it wouldn’t be shocking for Universal Pictures to announce remakes of films likeMegamindorMonsters vs. Aliensin the near future.
Source:Deadline
How to Train Your Dragon
