All good things must come to an end, and we will be seeing DreamWorks’ most-acclaimed franchise go out with a bang. That movie is How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. After years of delays, we have been greeted warmly with the teaser trailer of the highly-anticipated third and final chapter!
Our hero Hiccup has come a long way since his wimpy beginnings with his Night Fury companion Toothless. Now he and Astrid are chiefs and rulers of Berk, which they have turned into an exotic dragon utopia. However, both humans and dragons are under major threat that will test the limits between Hiccup and Toothless’ friendship.
The teaser trailer gives us our first glimpse at the gorgeously-rendered hidden world, where it’s discovered that Toothless isn’t the last of his kind. In fact, it’s home to a female Light Fury, one which Toothless gets engaged with through some humorously romantic incompetence. We are also introduced to the film’s antagonist Grimmel (voiced by F. Murray Abraham of Isle of Dogs). This man who will stop at nothing to ensure that every Night Fury is hunted down, putting Berk and their dragons in grave danger, and will force them to find a new home for themselves and the dragons.
Along with Abraham, the regular voice cast will reprise their roles, including Jay Baruchel as Hiccup, America Ferrera as Astrid, Cate Blanchett as Valka, Kit Harington as Eret, Craig Ferguson as Gobber and others. Brad Lewis and Bonnie Arnold will serve as producers, while series helmer Dean DeBlois is back in the director and writer’s chair.
With the numerous delays this movie suffered, it’s pretty clear that DeBlois has been taking his time perfecting the script to make it the best conclusion possible, and it’s sure looks to be a major tearjerker. At his Animation Dingle 2017 keynote event, DeBlois stated he showed his script to the prolific filmmaker/DreamWorks co-founder Steven Spielberg and was remarked by Spielberg with the following (at 36:38 in the video):
“Insane Congratulations. I cannot believe what I just read and I had a problem reading the last part of it through my tears. It’s a complete unqualified classic and better than the original. I’ve never witnessed this kind of transformation from the last two drafts I read to this one. I only wish I had points.”
Although this movie is set to conclude the beloved series, it also marks the start of a new era for DreamWorks, as it is their first film to be released by their new owner Universal Pictures. This brings up the interesting fact that each How to Train Your Dragon instalment was distributed by a different studio; the first being released by Paramount Pictures in 2010, the second by 20th Century Fox in 2014, and the third by Universal Pictures in 2019.
Releasing nearly nine years after the first movie, Universal will unleash How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World into North American cinemas on March 1, 2019, so be sure to get that marked on your calendar. Oh, and don’t forget to come prepared with tissues, because if Spielberg cried, I’m sure we will too.
