How to Train Your Dragon
As Disney’s live-action remakes have become more and more prevalent, other animation studios have begun producing their own, and theHow to Train Your Dragonremake is the next one set to be released.
DreamWorks tends to be regarded as a much more hit-and-miss studio than Disney, but some of their best works can easily stand toe-to-toe with Disney’s biggest successes, and at the top of that list is theHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise, so its inclusion as the studio’s first live-action remake makes a lot of sense.
While allthreeHow to Train Your Dragonmovies are excellent, with their own identities and strengths, the second film can often be seen as the least impressive, with a number of issues that keep it from reaching the same lofty heights as the original film.
While the first remake hasn’t actually come out yet,the sequel has already been confirmed, and the mostly positive reactions thatHow to Train Your Dragon’s trailershave received mean that the second movie is certainly going to follow in its footsteps.
The Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon 2 Can Fix The Animated Sequel’s Pacing Problems
The New Version Can Give More Scenes Time To Shine
One issue that the original sequel faced was some pacing problems, and though these issues weren’t particularly severe, they did underserve the film in places.
The first movie felt like it gave plenty of scenes, such as Hiccup and Toothless' first flight, room to breathe, letting the audience luxuriate in the moment and really feel the bond developing between the two characters.The sequel, on the other hand, can feel like it’s trying to rush the story along in places, only giving so much time for the mood to settle before rushing off to the next scene.
Universal Pictures
How To Train Your Dragon 2 Can Spend More Time On The Animated Sequel’s Underdeveloped Characters
Certain Characters Felt Underutilized In The Original Sequel
While the corecast ofHow to Train Your Dragonget a decent amount of things to do in the sequel, there are some characters that felt more half-baked, who could’ve used more time in the spotlight.
These issues crop up most obviously for the villain, Drago Bludvist, who didn’t manage to make too much of an impression during his time in the franchise.
He accomplished a lot in the film, buthis motivation wasn’t very interesting or clear, and while Djimon Hounsou put on a great vocal performance, he couldn’t save the character.
The first live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonis set to release on June 13, 2025, while the second movie has been announced to release on June 11, 2027.
Similar issues arose with Kit Harrington’s Eret, whose turn from villainy felt rushed and unearned, despite the fact that it was pretty obvious that’s where the character was going from his introduction.
WhenHow to Train Your Dragon2does release the live-action remake, it could solve some of these issues, giving scenes more time to breathe and more screen time to the villains.
However, this is still very dependent on the newHow to Train Your Dragon’s success in the first place, and whether that movie manages to be an upgrade or downgrade from the original.
Cast
