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Across nearly a decade, the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy unspooled a heart-swelling coming-of-age story centred on the bond between boy and beast. And now, director Dean DeBlois – who helmed all three animated instalments, co-directing alongside Chris Sanders on the first film – is making the leap to live-action with the story that started it all. Yes, Viking youngster Hiccup and his not-so-scary dragon pal Toothless are about to gain a whole new dimension, as the Isle Of Berk is conjured in the flesh.
As DeBlois tells Empire, the move to live-action brings a different emphasis to How To Train Your Dragon; a new heft, both physically and emotionally. “It’s so dialled-up in terms of stakes — having a fully credible, photo-real dragon stomping around trying to kill him,” the director says, thinking about the scene in which Hiccup has to pretend to face off with Toothless for the benefit of Berk’s dragon-fearing people.
While much of the excitement will come from seeing how the adorable Toothless is rendered for this version of the story, there’s also the matter of Hiccup – the kid who defies tradition and comes to show his people that dragons aren’t necessarily the enemy. Enter Mason Thames, best known for his leading role in The Black Phone. Since the character “represents all of the oddballs out there, and there are many of us,” says DeBlois, it seems Thames was a perfect fit for inhabiting Dragon’s young human hero. “There was a bit of awkwardness, but also a vulnerability to him which [came] with the fact that he was 15 when we were auditioning him,” says the director. Get ready for an adaptation that gives Hiccup and Toothless… well, more teeth.