Live-action remakes of classic animated films are in vogue right now, and not only at Disney. We’ve known for a few months that Universal was getting in on that live-action, um, action with a flesh-and-blood reimagining of 2010’s How To Train Your Dragon. That project is steadily moving forward, and today we found out what human actors will take on the leading human roles in the movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, fifteen-year-old Mason Thames—who had a breakout role in the horror film, The Black Phone—will take on the role of Hiccup, the young boy who finds a friend who also happens to be a dragon. Nico Parker, who played Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) daughter, Sarah, in The Last of Us (pictured above), has been cast as Astrid, a girl who has a disdain for dragons in the first film but, over the course of the three animated movies, comes to see the fire-breathing creatures in a different light. In the animated films, Jay Baruchel voiced Hiccup and America Ferrera voiced Astrid.
According to THR, the casting process for these two parts “took many months,” as Universal wanted actors who could grow with their characters over what they expect to be multiple live-action films. Dean DeBlois, who directed the animated features based on the books by Cressida Cowell, will also write and direct the live-action version.
The first live-action How To Train Your Dragon feature is set to premiere in theaters on March 14, 2025.
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