'How to Train Your Dragon 3' Will End the Franchise

Sadly, when the credits roll on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third feature film in the series, the entire franchise will likely be finished for good. The upcoming sequel will bring in an end not only to the trilogy of films, but also the Netflix TV series. The entire story is set to be completed with this one final outing.

Based on the series of children's books by Cressida Cowell, the How to Train Your Dragon franchise has always had an end in sight, and the film's creators have long planned on ending things in a way that was similar to the source material. Fans may have been holding out hope that the movies could continue as long as they were making money, but that isn't going to be the case here.

Despite the first two films totalling more than $1 billion at the box office, Dreamworks and franchise writer/director Dean DeBlois are bidding goodbye to the dragons once The Hidden World hits theaters in March.

"We thought about it for a long time and came up with what we think is a bittersweet way to say goodbye to these characters, but the right way," DeBlois said in an interview with EW.

The director also gave a slight hint at the ending, referencing the teark-jerking Hidden World trailer that was released earlier this year. He noted that the film would definitely answer the trailer's most talked-about question: What happens to the dragons?

"You will understand why Hiccup says, as you heard in the trailer, 'There were dragons when I was a boy.' And by the end of this film, you'll have answered the question [of] what could have happened to them," DeBlois confirmed.

At this point, not much else is know about the final installment in the How to Train Your Dragon series, but we will hopefully get another glimpse of the action very soon. The filmmakers will be sharing some "special teases" to close out the Toronto International Film Festival.

Are you heartbroken to see the How to Train Your Dragon franchise close the book for good? What do you think will happen to Toothless and Hiccup before it's all said and done? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will fly into theaters on March 1, 2019.