How to Train Your Dragon live-action trailer reveals Toothless

Like many live-action adaptations of beloved animated films, How to train your dragon has an uphill battle ahead. But the first trailer proves that one very big thing right: the dragon looks toothless good.

Instead of opting for a hyper-realistic dragon stripped of all cuteness, it seems the filmmakers know exactly what makes Toothless so damn endearing. So he looks almost the same in design, except with more realistic texture to match “real” life. For better or for worse, the initial meeting between Toothless and Hiccup seems to play out almost exactly as it does in the original. But when John Powell’s familiar score rises, it’s a little hard not to get swept up in the world of dragon riding.

How to train your dragon is based on the 2010 DreamWorks animated film of the same name, itself loosely based on a children’s book series by Cressida Cowell. It follows a young outcast Viking teenager who befriends one of the dragons his village regularly battles.

Unlike the horde of Disney live-action remakes, How to train your dragon is directed by the original film’s director, Dean DeBlois (also one of the original directors of Lilo & Stitchwhich is also slated for a live-action remake next year — but he’s not directing it). It stars Mason Thames (The black phone) as inappropriate Viking-turned-dragon trainers Hiccup and Nico Parker (The last of us) as the badass Viking warrior Astrid, with Gerard Butler reprising his role from the animated series as the Viking chief Stoick the Great.

How to train your dragon flies into theaters on June 13, 2025.