DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon sets LA shoot for live-action adaptation

A live-action adaptation of DreamWorks Animation's How To Train Your Dragon is set to film in Los Angeles on June 30, according to the Production List.

Dean DeBlois, who wrote and directed the animated trilogy (2010’s How to Train Your Dragon, 2014’s HTTYD 2, and 2019’s HTTYD: The Hidden World) is returning to direct, write, and produce the upcoming re-imagining of the fantasy series.

The animated classic is loosely based on the first book in a series by Cressida Cowell of the same name. It centres on a teenage Viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who lives on the island of Berk with the rest of his tribe. Over the course of seven generations, Berk has been continuously raided by dragons of all different species, prompting a war between them and the tribe.

Like every other young Viking on Berk, Hiccup is expected to slay dragon as a rite of passage. A misfit, he resorts to the exact opposite by befriending a dragon, Night Fury, who Hiccup affectionately renames Toothless.

Story and casting details will be announced in due course with filming set to start next month.

The upcoming remake is executive produced by Rolando Davila-Beltran (Stranger Things). Alongside DeBlois, the film is also produced by Marc Platt (La La Land) and Adam Siegel (Hotel Artemis) under the banners of Mark Platt Productions and Universal Pictures for Universal.

Universal’s VP of production development Lexi Barta will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.