As the world of 2024 movies continues to unfold, the remake of How to Train Your Dragon is something that fans and spectators alike will be keeping a keen eye on. News surrounding the movie, set to release on June 13, 2025, has been proceeding on a steady track of development. Part of the fire surrounding those developments is the casting of the major roles present in director Dean DeBlois’ live-action remake.
You can now follow the path that How to Train Your Dragon is taking to returning to the big screen thanks to this handy cast list. So make sure to come back to this very rundow, and see who else has joined the ranks. For now, here’s who we currently know has been cast in this Universal/DreamWorks live-action remake!
Gerard Butler
In the 2010 version of How to Train Your Dragon, Gerard Butler played the role of Stoick the Vast. Chieftain of Berk, as well as father to Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Stoick balances parenting and leadership as a single father. So leave it to returning director Dean DeBlois to recruit his previous collaborator to reprise the role.
A veteran of some of the best action movies like Olympus Has Fallen, not to mention dramas in the vein of Kandahar and Greenland, Gerard Butler will probably be able to put both skill sets to work in How to Train Your Dragon’s remake. Though if Stoick the Vast’s character design from animation translates to the real world, the former Spartan of 300 won’t have to stay as ripped as he did in that previous picture.
At the moment, Butler’s casting in DreamWorks’ live-action remake marks the only cast member from the animated incarnation to return for flesh and blood version of their character. Which certainly makes for an interesting question pertaining to casting other important characters in potential sequels.
Nick Frost
Every chieftain needs a trusted advisor, and in the universe built by author Cressida Cowell’s source material, Gobber the Belch is that person. Within the live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon, that post will be fulfilled by an actor more than suited to play a warrior who dispenses wisdom and wisecracks, Nick Frost.
In this post, the former zombie hunter from Shaun of the Dead will be teaching the next generation of Berk how to take on a different foe: dragons. Well, that’s in addition to also acting as the sounding board for his friend Stoick, as well as being the village blacksmith. So there’s no shortage of angles for Mr. Frost to take in his performance.
Previously, Nick Frost was also Doctor Who’s Santa Claus in the episode “Last Christmas,” as well as the on-screen father of the WWE’s Sariya (Florence Pugh) in Stephen Merchant’s Fighting with My Family. In the animated world of How to Train Your Dragon, the role of Gobber was played by talk show host/comedian Craig Ferguson.
Mason Thames
Admittedly, the roles of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Astrid Hofferson were two of the parts How to Train Your Dragon would automatically have to recast. That’s nothing against their previous voice actors, but when it comes to live-action, nailing your character’s age is way more important than in an animated context.
So a new actor needed to step in to play the young man who forms a lasting bond with Toothless the Dragon and tries to convince his community to bond with these creatures. Tapped for the duties to play Jay Baruchel’s central hero from the animated How to Train Your Dragon is none other than The Black Phone’s Mason Thames.
While the live-action Hiccup is set to also return to The Black Phone 2’s cast, a film that’s also set to debut in June 2025, there’s a good chance that Mason’s schedule is already set to tackle both of these Universal-backed projects. And with both movies on the books, Thames will continue to build a resume as a young hero ready for anything.
Nico Parker
America Ferrera previously gave life to Astrid Hofferson through the How to Train Your Dragon animated universe. However, much like Mr. Baruchel, she now has a successor to her animated role. Ms. Ferrera’s recent thoughts on Dragon’s remake included her approval and excitement of actor Nico Parker’s casting as the new Astrid.
Parker comes from an acting background that’s more than prepared her for interacting with CGI creations, in addition to dealing with a landscape of peril. She was previously seen in the 2019 live-action remake of Disney’s Dumbo, which covers the interactions she’ll be having with Toothless and other dragons. Dragons and elephants aren’t that dissimilar if you ask the right Game of Thrones character.
Which, in its own way, leads to the peril bit. Seeing as Nico Parker was also notably cast as Sarah, the ill-fated daughter of Joel (Pedro Pascal) seen in HBO’s The Last of Us, tension-filled situations are also part of her set of skills. Which now presents the question of which threat is the more pressing matter: dragons or Cordyceps-transformed humans?
While we’re still waiting for production to kick off for How to Train Your Dragon’s June 2025 release date, there’s bound to be more additions to the cast that will astound and surprise. So while this is all the information we have for now, we’ll be keeping our eyes to the sky to see what else flies into view in the near future.
It’s an especially interesting prospect considering the rest of the young cast is waiting to be revealed to an eager fandom. There’s a lot of young talent out there that could be perfect to complete the class of Dragon Riders that’ll take this vision into a new age of adventure; and they’re all just waiting to be discovered!
In the meantime, Toothless and Hiccup will be return, in their new CGI/live-action forms, starting June 13, 2025. So if you want to get reacquainted with How to Train Your Dragon’s animated incarnation, you can currently do so through several streaming platforms. At the time of this writing, a Peacock subscription will help you start things off, as the 2010 animated original is streaming there.