‘How to Train Your Dragon' Filmmaker Dean DeBlois Details the Live-Action Remake's Half Hour of New Material

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How to Train Your Dragon filmmaker Dean DeBlois has been dreaming about directing a live-action narrative for three-plus decades, but he never imagined that he'd finally do so by adapting his own animated work. And he certainly never expected that he'd be releasing his first live-action feature into a theatrical marketplace that also contains a live-action adaptation of his first animated film, Lilo & Stitch.
The Canadian filmmaker co-wrote and co-directed the latter with Chris Sanders for its 2002 release, before they eventually made their way to 2010's How to Train Your Dragon, which they turned around in just 15 months' time. The animated fantasy-adventure film became a critical and commercial hit, garnering two Oscar nominations. From there, DeBlois turned How to Train Your Dragon into an equally successful trilogy that he completed in 2019.
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Universal then initiated talks about a live-action adaptation, especially now that dragon visual effects had become so convincing by way of Game of Thrones. Ultimately, DeBlois couldn't resist the offer for a multitude of reasons, and he's grateful to Universal for having the courtesy to consider the original filmmaker first. He did not receive the same treatment during development of the live-action Lilo & Stitch.
'Even now I can't quite get my head around it, especially being that I'm intimately involved in one and a complete stranger to the other,' DeBlois tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of How to Train Your Dragon's June 13 theatrical release. 'The big difference is that Universal approached me as the original filmmaker, which is something that I don't think any of the Disney remakes have done. So that was flattering and an honor. And to be frank, I selfishly didn't want to see somebody else's version of [Ho​​w to Train Your Dragon].'
Knowing the history of animation filmmakers who've made the jump to live-action, DeBlois did not take this opportunity lightly.
'I was hyper aware of the long list of animation directors who've attempted live-action and failed at it, and I didn't want to be another one of those,' DeBlois admits. 'So I was very conscious and very prepared, having watched every behind-the-scenes making-of I could find, and every season of Project Greenlight, et cetera. I was just making sure we were as prepared as we could be.'
The live-action How to Train Your Dragon honors its predecessor by executing a shot-for-shot recreation of many of its most famous animated moments. However, the coming-of-age tale about an awkward teenage Viking (Mason Thames' Hiccup) who resolves generations' worth of conflict between Isle of Berk's Viking population and nearby dragons also includes at least 27 minutes of new material. DeBlois had the space to develop characters a bit more and extend sequences in welcomed ways, while also shedding elements from the original that were no longer necessary.
'A lot of individual scenes just grew because we allowed for the relationships to run a little deeper. So the action is dialed up, but so is the interplay between characters,' DeBlois says.
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, DeBlois also discusses the moment in time where Gerard Butler couldn't reprise his animated role of Stoick the Vast in live-action, as well as the touching tribute he surprised the actor with in the film's closing credits.
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If I traveled back in time to the 2010 premiere of and I told you that you'd be making a live-action adaptation in 2025, would you have scoffed at such a notion?
(Laughs.) It's a bit frightening, isn't it? It makes me fast forward. If I live to 85, will I still be making How to Train Your Dragon movies? (Laughs.) But, yeah, I definitely thought I had closed the chapter on the How to Train Your Dragon world and characters when we had our sendoff in 2019.
And what if I added the kicker that it would arrive three weeks after your first movie's live-action adaptation []? Would you have laughed me out of the room?
I think I would have. It does seem very bizarre. Even now I can't quite get my head around it, especially being that I'm intimately involved in one and a complete stranger to the other.
What became the ultimate clincher for you in terms of adapting your own work in live-action?
Well, I was asked, first of all. The big difference is that Universal approached me as the original filmmaker, which is something that I don't think any of the Disney remakes have done. So that was flattering and an honor, but just the fact that they were considering a live-action retelling meant that it was likely going to happen. And to be frank, I selfishly didn't want to see somebody else's version of it. So I put my hand up and said, 'Listen, I know where the heart is, and I know these characters and this world intimately. If you're going to do it, I would love to be at the helm of it.'
Dragon VFX have come a long way the last decade-plus thanks to . Did that technological advancement factor into the overall decision as well?
I think so, yes. Game of Thrones definitely brought dragons back into the cultural conversation in the way that we had started with [2010's] How to Train Your Dragon. So there was great potential in seeing these individual species brought to life in a very credible way, and that was immediately appealing to the studio and to me. We were [always] chasing a live-action aesthetic with the animated movie. We brought in [celebrated DP] Roger Deakins [to consult], and we leaned into a world that had consequence and peril and none of the cartoon physics that we were used to. If you got in the way of dragon fire, you would get burned, or if you fell from a great height, you would die or lose a leg. So that was something that we were dancing with in order to find the line between live-action and animation, but here, we could fully commit [to live-action].
Bill Pope is one of the most decorated DPs of his generation, and any movie is lucky to have him. That said, given Roger Deakins' involvement in the original animated film as a visual consultant, did you put out a feeler to him at the beginning of this process just for curiosity's sake?
Roger was the second phone call I made. The first one was to [composer] John Powell, and I said, 'Talk me out of this if it's a bad idea.' But John saw the same potential. If we did it well, we could give a nostalgic hug to the fans of the franchise and open it up for a whole new generation. And he said, 'If you do it, I'm in.'
The second call to Roger Deakins was when he was coming off of Blade Runner 2049, so he didn't want to do any big effects movies. But he said, 'I know just the guy. I want to introduce you to Bill Pope.' Bill always jokes that he's like everyone else: Roger told him to do something and he did it. (Laughs.) But it was such a wonderful thing to have Bill by my side. More than just being, as you say, a very decorated DP with a fantastic eye, he's very story-minded, and he was always looking for the truth in the exchange of actors. He also encouraged me to ignore the 300 people on either side of the camera and just focus on the actors and the scene that they're bringing to life with their own cadence and subtleties.
There are at least 27 minutes' worth of live-action additions. Stoick (Gerard Butler) rallies the troops at the beginning in a now-longer scene from the 2010 movie, and Astrid (Nico Parker) gives Hiccup (Mason Thames) a piece of her mind during the book scene. She has a 'tooth-full' set piece as well. What other major additions am I missing?
Well, a lot of individual scenes just grew because we allowed for the relationships to run a little deeper. An example might be the scene in which Hiccup is supposed to kill a Monstrous Nightmare in front of the whole village, so there's time spent with Astrid and Hiccup in the tunnel. There's a little more time spent with Stoic and Hiccup, and there's the intense scene that unfolds in the arena as Toothless bursts in and tries to protect Hiccup. So the action is dialed up, but so is the interplay between characters.
Another scene is when we follow Stoic and his ships into the fog for the first time where they get jumped by dragons. It's only suggested in the animated movie, but we get to venture in there and remind the audience that there is cause to be intimidated and fearful of dragons just as Hiccup is befriending one in the secret cove.
There are also scenes from the animated movie that we omitted. Hiccup is no longer accosted by Terrible Terrors on the beach following his 'Test Drive' flight. Astrid no longer nearly catches him red-handed in the blacksmith stall at night while he has Toothless in the stall with him. We felt like the storytelling was coming through loud and clear with the live-action performances, and we no longer had to lean on or make a finer point of it with these scenes. So we could keep the pace moving along for all of the expansions that we had put in place.
When filmmakers watch their films, they often see the flaws that nobody else would ever notice. They know the what-could-have-beens and what-should-have-beens. Did you address any of those miniscule items that have driven you nuts the last 15 years?
Absolutely. I have my list with every movie, and in this case, there were small ones and large ones. One of the large ones was that I felt like we missed the boat on developing the other teenage characters, particularly Astrid. So I wanted to give her a little bit more purchase in the story and a sense of backstory and why her resentment is so acute when it comes to Hiccup and his position of privilege.
It also allowed for little moments that we could explain away, like how did all the Vikings get back to Berk at the end of the movie if the Red Death burned all of their ships? (Laughs.) So we could just address things in dialogue, and it was satisfying to check off a list of those little things, but also make room for missed opportunities. On the first movie, we were rushed along due to circumstance. We had to get the movie rewritten and into theaters within 15 months, and we couldn't quite indulge in some of the action and some of the character interplay as much as we might've liked to at the time.
You've directed documentaries and music videos; your career hasn't just been animation. But how long did it take for you to find your sea legs as director of a live-action narrative?
Well, I turned 55 this year, and I've been wanting to do it since the start of my career. So having the opportunity at all is not lost on me. It's such an immense privilege, and I was so supported by these talented veterans. I was hyper aware of the long list of animation directors who've attempted live-action and failed at it, and I didn't want to be another one of those. So I was very conscious and very prepared, having watched every behind-the-scenes making-of I could find, and every season of Project Greenlight, et cetera. (Laughs.) I was just making sure we were as prepared as we could be. I continued to learn by the time we started rolling camera. In principal photography, the greatest lesson I learned was now you hand it over to the actors. You try to answer every question, and then you put it in the hands of actors who are fully embodying their roles. So you let that cadence develop and influence the scene, and be responsive to it so you're able to pivot.
already had a hit movie for Universal. Were they the ones who first said to take a look at him for Hiccup?
No, in fact, I was flying to London to see a long list of potential Hiccups that were gathered together by Lucy Bevan, our casting director, and I watched The Black Phone on the flight. Afterward, I thought, 'Wow, I wonder what age this kid is because he's got some serious acting chops. I'm not sure if he's got any comedic chops, but I would love to meet him and see if he's at all interested.' Little did I know, Mason grew up with the How to Train Your Dragon movies, and Hiccup was a hero of his. He even dressed up as him for Halloween, so he was a perfect find. He just intuitively got the character, and he was 15 [at the time], which was perfect.
Gerard Butler's reprisal of Stoick the Vast in live-action makes so much sense. Did you consider David Tennant or anyone else from the 2010 cast?
David Tennant is such a talented actor, and I felt embarrassed that we didn't have a big enough role for him in the animated films. But the character that he played, Spitelout, who is Snotlout 's father, is just such a big, brawny, large person that I didn't think David would physically be the right match for him. Maybe in the future we'll find the perfect role for him, but he's such an ingenious actor. When it came to Gerard, he wasn't even available when we started casting the film. He had back-to-back projects that would've made him inaccessible during our shooting schedule. So it was actually the actors' strike of 2023 that jostled some of those projects around, and suddenly, there was an open window where we could grab him.
You dedicated the film to Gerard's late mother, Margaret Coll. Were you able to surprise him with that gesture?
Yes, I proposed it to the studio to see how they felt about it before telling him. I knew that the loss of his mother was a deeply felt wound and that he was having a tough time recovering from it. So to honor her with a dedication in the credits just seemed like the right thing to do in that moment.
The score is just as rousing as it was the first time I heard it. Did you play it on set during the flying sequences and whatnot?
Yes, absolutely. When we were filming 'Test Drive' and 'Romantic Flight,' we had the music playing. When we were on the cove set and going through the motions with [dragon] puppeteer Tom Wilton, and Mason was drawing in the sand and doing that dance that leads to the first touch, we were playing John Powell's 'Forbidden Friendship' music over that as well. It made the whole thing magical. Suddenly, you just felt transported into the moment, and you're less aware of the lights, the crew and everything around you.
When you first heard 'Test Drive' way back when, did you start jumping rooftops? Did you know you'd struck gold courtesy of John Powell?
My recollection is that every time we visited John's studio on that first film, he just kept playing banger after banger. There was so much success. And yet, sometimes, we had to point to a melody within a longer piece of music and say, 'Make it about that, because that's the tune that I'm going to whistle walking out of here.' John is such a flurry of ideas that sometimes he buries his best ideas amongst other ones, and with my layman's terms, I'm able to point at things and say, 'Now that feels like an epic, iconic piece of music for this part of the movie.'
Lastly, do you see yourself directing the rest of the trilogy in live-action? Or would you shift to more of a producorial role?
For the time being, the fact that they want to make a second one is already a victory. If the world embraces this movie and we're allowed to continue down this path, then it allows me the opportunity to course correct on some of those regrets that I've had to live with. I'm very proud of the animated trilogy, but particularly that first one that I made with Chris Sanders. I never want these [live-action films] to be replacements of the animated films, but if [live-action] allows us to explore and look down some dark alleys and pull out a little bit more depth and dimension with characters and unexplored story, then that seems exciting to me. So I'm happy to continue doing it until that opportunity goes away.
***How to Train Your Dragon opens in movie theaters nationwide on June 13.
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