The live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon has delayed its projected start date. The move comes amid twin strikes by the Writers Guild of America, representing screenwriters, and The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, representing actors. The major studios, represented by The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, have not returned to negotiations since they broke down in May for the writers and mid-July for the actors. As a result, most of Hollywood is shut down, although independent studios without AMPTP affiliations are able to get waivers for smaller projects, like Kevin Smith’s The 4:30 Movie.
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Indie studio A24 has also avoided the strike by negotiating a separate deal, allowing them to push forward and setting a standard that the AMPTP is likely to be pressured to eventually meet. At this stage in the strikes, it is not clear how long it will take to resolve them fully, or whether the AMPTP will come to terms with both unions at once or try to leverage one against the other.
How To Train Your Dragon was due to start filming in Belfast’s Titanic Studios this month with an eye toward a March 2025 release. Whether it can still make its release date is likely dependent on when it actually gets started. In spite of filming in Belfast, How to Train Your Dragon (as well as Nia DaCosta’s Hedda) is expected to heavily feature American performers who, as part of SAG, can’t participate in the production until there’s a contract in place.
The cast announced so far include US actors Mason Thames and Nico Parker. It’s also set to be directed by Dean DeBlois, who wrote the screenplays for the original animated trilogy, which presumably would be pretty much impossible while writers are on strike.
Josie and the Pussycats exec Marc Plattis producing, via his own Marc Platt Productions, alongside regular Dreamworks collaborator Universal Pictures.
This will be the first instance of an animated DreamWorks franchise being carried over into live-action. Loosely based on the books of Cressida Cowell, the How to Train Your Dragon franchise spanned three films from 2010 to 2019, which starred Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, and Craig Ferguson. It also led to multiple short films and television spinoffs including DreamWorks Dragons, DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Rider, and DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms.
How to Train Your Dragon is set to be released in theaters on March 14, 2025.
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