TV & Beyond on 2025-06-13 15:00:00

by | Jun 13, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles | 0 comments

TV & Beyond on 2025-06-13 15:00:00

they’re largely forgettable ventures that somehow manage to keep making money at the box office because there’s not a whole lot of competition out there for tentpole family entertainment. It’s a smart, albeit lazy, business venture that makes sense when you look at the monetary benefits. Through that prism, the only surprise of Dreamworks following suit with a live-action remake of “How to Train Your Dragon” is that they didn’t do it sooner.

The fantasy action-adventure series is arguably one of DreamWorks’ most consistent franchises, with three critically acclaimed animated films and a combined $1.6 billion haul under its belt. Dean DeBlois, co-director of the original “How to Train Your Dragon,” returns to essentially make the same movie again, albeit without “Lilo & Stitch” scribe Chris Sanders. It’s a completely faithful remake (in every sense of the word), working from pretty much the same script and shot compositions of the 2010 film, slavishly so. For some, hearing John Powell’s sweeping score set against Toothless gliding through the sky will be enough to get onboard. /Film’s Ethan Anderton gets to the heart of this in his review, yet agrees that the film is an unnecessary retread of a classic film.

It doesn’t really matter, though. “How to Train Your Dragon” is likely going to blow the summer box office wide open and pave the way for more live-action remakes of DreamWorks’s animated library. Just a few months ago at CinemaCon, Universal showed complete confidence in the franchise’s viability by not only screening the 2025 film for those in attendance but announcing the remake of “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” which already had a set release date of June 11, 2027. They know you’re going to see it.

It gave the impression that DeBlois already knew he was in the “How to Train Your Dragon” remake game for the long haul. Each of the animated films were planned out separately, but now these movies could plant clearer seeds for future installments. There’s not a whole lot of new stuff in the 2025 remake, but a few extra lines give some extra context to where 2027’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2” will likely be heading.

How to Train Your Dragon signals the arrival of Valka, Hiccup’s mother

Valka caressing Hiccup's cheek in How to Train Your Dragon 2

Universal Pictures

When we pick up with Hiccup in 2014’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” he’s gone through a considerable transformation from the scrawny Viking who couldn’t kill a dragon, to the prospective chief of Berk. Amid an identity crisis posing as an adventure, Hiccup encounters a mysterious masked figure riding on top of a Cloudjumper, who’s ultimately revealed to be his mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett). She was presumed dead, having been missing for 20 years, but it turns out that she’s been cultivating a safe space for dragons far away from her former home.

In the 2010 film, the only mention of Hiccup’s mother is in a brief scene where Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), the only character to be played by the same actor in both versions, bestows a Viking helmet to the awkward teenager that was partially constructed with half of her breastplate. Stoick’s somber delivery insinuates that she’s since passed away. This same scene is in the 2025 film, practically word for word. We learn in “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” however, that Valka was taken by a Cloudjumper that initially showed compassion to a baby Hiccup during an attack on the village. She ultimately chose not to return because her dragon sympathies didn’t align with the rest of Berk, believing Hiccup and Stoick would be better off without her presence.

Strewn throughout the 2025 film, however, are other small references that hint at her fate in the upcoming second installment. Stoick and his best friend Gobber (Nick Frost) discuss the lack of dragon-hunting enthusiasm in Hiccup (Mason Thames), with the former saying that he gets the stubborn attitude from his mother. “Look what happened to her,” he says. Anyone who’s already seen the 2014 sequel already knows what this is setting up.

Another added line of dialogue to clue the audience into Valka’s future appearance is when Stoick angrily chastises his son after he shows similar sympathies for the winged creatures. “They took your mother for God’s sake,” the live-action Stoick says right before going into the “they’ve killed hundreds of us” spiel from the animated film. Every mention of Valka, although never by her name, practically spells out another beat-for-beat recreation of her character in the upcoming 2027 remake. But there’s the slight possibility that DeBlois could go in a much different direction.

Hiccup’s mother has taken on different forms

Valka in her warrior outfit in How to Train Your Dragon 2

Universal Pictures

In the early development stages of 2014’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Valka would not only be revealed as Hiccup’s long-lost mother, but the film’s secret secondary antagonist. Her maternal instincts would sour after learning he was responsible for initially shooting down Toothless, confirming her beliefs that humanity is a threat to the safety of all dragons. Valka would summon the Bewilderbeast to liberate Berk’s assortment of dragons for her sanctuary. “The Hidden World” would have reconciled the character with Hiccup after coming to terms with Hiccup’s genuine admiration for the creatures. Making Valka a villain would peeve fans of the original films, but it would be a refreshing change of pace that could actually throw audiences off guard based on their prior knowledge and deepen that character’s journey. In the 2014 film, Hiccup doesn’t really struggle with her absence in his life after learning about their shared kinship for dragon prosperity.

The other, yet less likely option, for Valka’s incorporation into the films could lie in the Cressida Cowell book series that inspired them. Both feature adaptations of “How to Train Your Dragon” are radically different in part because the winged beasts are at odds with the Vikings, as opposed to the books. Valka, who goes by the name Valhallarama, is similarly absent for most of Hiccup’s life. The crucial difference is that she wasn’t kidnapped by dragons. Valhallarama is mostly off on Quests for most of the series, and only really becomes a fixed presence in Hiccup’s life in the last few books.

Crowell’s young adult novels are loaded with a completely different set of rules and mythology, that it’s difficult to see DeBlois plucking from them. I highly doubt they’ll consider any of them, considering how annoyingly dependent he is on the original film, but I’ll be pleasantly surprised if proven wrong.

“How to Train Your Dragon” is now playing in theaters nationwide.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x