How to Train Your Dragon 2 Crew Member Suffers Major Injury During Sequel’s Production

Last summer was a big test for the live-action remake of an animated classic, but one that the Hollywood studios passed with flying colors. Not only did Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch become one of the highest-grossing movies of the year, bringing in over a billion dollars globally, but Universal revived the How to Train Your Dragon series in the same way. Not only did the film bring back original director Dean DeBlois to keep the vision consistent, but original voice actor Gerard Butler also returned to his character, Stoick the Vast. The film brought in over $636 million globally.

Naturally, with the success of that scale, a sequel was quickly confirmed. With How to Train Your Dragon already a pretty expansive animated series, there’s plenty of room for the live-action series to continue following in those footsteps, or blaze an all-new path. Production on the sequel kicked off earlier this year for How to Train Your Dragon 2 to make its planned 2027 release date, but now the filming has a dark mark on it as Variety brings word of an injury on set, one that has reportedly left a crew member permanently maimed by the accident.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 Crew Member Injured

According to the trade, a special effects technician working on How to Train Your Dragon 2 was injured at Sky Studios Elstree, where the sequel is currently filming. As Variety reports it, the individual was injured in a workshop at the studio with “an incident involving a saw.” They go on to reveal that the crew member, unfortunately, “severed multiple fingers” from one of their hands during the accident, and despite a surgical attempt to rectify the injury, they were unable to be reattached. Universal Studios has not released a statement on the injury as of this writing.

Unfortunately, accidents and injuries are just as common on film and TV sets as they are in any other workplace. Marvel Studios had to pause production on the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day last year when star Tom Holland suffered a mild concussion during filming at Pinewood in the UK. As fans may recall, production on Star Wars: The Force Awakens was paused back in 2014 when Harrison Ford broke a bone in his leg after a hydraulic door fell on him, the result of which meant a long-enough delay in filming that the movie itself had to be delayed.

Bectu (the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union in the UK) last year released a statement condemning the practice of “breaking turnaround,” when union members are forced to return to work hours after having completed their shift previously.

“Breaking turnaround impacts workers’ ability to do their job safely and effectively. Reports to Bectu indicate that exhaustion, accidents and near-misses are all too common, as well as poor mental health for many film and TV workers,” Bectu National Secretary Spencer Macdonald said last year. “The impact on film and TV workers’ wellbeing and personal lives is huge, and we are committed to taking action and improving terms and conditions including fighting to expand our collective bargaining coverage.”