Credit: Inside the MagicIt’s official: we’re deep in the remake era. Live-action retellings of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Peter Pan (1953), The Little Mermaid (1989), Lilo and Stitch (2003), and Moana (2016) are all on the way from Disney – and now Universal Pictures is joining in the fun, too.
As we previously reported, there are plans to release a live-action remake of the DreamWorks animation How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Like the original, this will tell the tale of Hiccup, an awkward young Viking who befriends a dragon named Toothless – despite living in a village that sees dragons as the enemy.
Followed by two sequels and numerous shorts, How to Train Your Dragon was an immediate success upon release and is still deeply beloved by fans today. The franchise inspired its own mini-land at Dubai’s Motiongate theme park in 2017 and a stage-show, complete with an animatronic Toothless, at Universal Studios Beijing in 2021.
Rumour has it that it’ll also have its own dedicated land at Universal Orlando’s upcoming Park Epic Universe when it opens in the summer of 2025. Trademarks suggest ‘How to Drain Your Dragon – Isle of Berk’ will feature Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, a rollercoaster that takes Guests on a flight over the park, and Fyre Drill, which is theorised to be a boat ride.
For fans counting down to Hiccup and Toothless’ live-action debut, we have some good news. The Hollywood Reporter claims How to Train Your Dragon will start filming this summer.
While Universal Pictures is yet to confirm filming dates (or a live-action cast), this timing would align perfectly with the planned release date of March 14, 2025, as well as the opening of Epic Universe.
How to Train Your Dragon will join a packed schedule for Universal Pictures in 2025, which will also see the release of horror sequel M3GAN 2.0 and Wicked: Part Two, the musical Wizard of Oz prequel starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, and Jeff Goldblum.