How To Train Your Dragon Could Become A New Generation's Lord Of The Rings

How To Train Your Dragon’supcoming live-action remake seems to be following in the footsteps ofLord of the Rings, which could be the key to elevating the franchise’s live-action future. Set for a 2025 release,How to Train Your Dragonsseems to be a faithful recreation of the modern animated classic, especially given the footage that has so far been released. This wasn’t necessarily a sure deal, given the mixed receptionlive-action remakes of animated filmshave found in recent years.

In fact, the trailer’s focus on the big emotional throughline of the original movies suggests thatHow To Train Your Dragonis indeed working to replicate the energy that elevated the original beyond other fantasy fare. It’s the sort of approach that made Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy so good, as it worked to capture the authentic spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novels. If the film follows through on that promise, thenthe live-actionHow To Train Your Dragoncould become the modern successor toLord of the Rings' adaptation success.

An edited image of Gerard Butler next to animated Stoick in How to Train Your Dragon.

How To Train Your Dragon Captures The Spirit Of The Original

The Trailer ForHow To Train Your DragonLooks To Capture The Original Animated Film’s Spirit

How To Train Your Dragonseems to nail the spirit of the original films, which could follow the example established byLord of the Ringsin adapting a fantasy epic. The teaser for the upcoming live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonis an exciting update for the franchise, bringing the story of the first film to life for a new generation. The footage featured in the teaser indicates that the film does a good job recreating the sense of wonder and danger that with Berk, while also adjusting to the sensibilities of live-action adventure stories in the modern era.

How To Train Your Dragon Has Already Justified Gerard Butler’s Live-Action Return

The brand-new live-action How to Train Your Dragon trailer proves that no actor could replace Gerard Butler as Viking leader Stoick the Vast.

Nailing the source material’s tone is an important attribute of any fantasy adaptation, as seen withThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. Those films fully embraced the adventure, tragedy, and grand romantic elements of the original texts, while also leaning into elements that worked better in live-action than in prose, like Tom Bombadil.At the heart of both stories is the emotional bond between the heroes, like the friendship between Frodo and Sam or the empathy Hiccup finds with Toothless. It’s clear from the teaser that this was a focus of the live-action film, which is a crucial discovery.

Close-up of Toothless from the new live action How to Train Your Dragon

Lord Of The Rings Proves How Important Authenticity Is To Fantasy Adaptations

How To Train Your DragonsNeeds To Replicate One Key Element OfLord Of The Rings

The Lord of the Ringstrilogy was successful in many regards, with one of the most impressive elements of the film trilogy being the way it unapologetically embraced the sweeping emotional highs and lows of the original story. Peter Jackson’s trilogy committed to those themes, authentically recreating the emotional throughline of the fantasy epic. Those elements, more than the massive battles and sweeping landscapes, make the movies enduringly compelling over two decades after they debuted.Authentically recreating the central themes of the source material elevated the trilogy, and could be the key toHow To Train Your Dragon’s future.

How To Train Your Dragonhas plenty of lore to play with, and could set the stage for a massive adventure thanks to the world established in the three animated films that serve as source material. The core of those movies was the emotional arc of Hiccup and Toothless. By making the connection between Hiccup and Toothless clear in the trailer, it’s apparent that the movie recognizes the importance of those emotional throughlines. If the full film can replicate those elements in full, thenHow To Train Your Dragoncould truly become a modern successor toLord of the Rings.