Release Date for 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' Pushed Back

DreamWorks Animation has just announced that the third and possibly final film in the popular How to Train Your Dragon franchise has been pushed back by an entire year.

Back in 2012, two years after the first film in the series had been released, DreamWorks said that the third movie would be in theaters on June 16, 2016, but now with this update, we won’t see our favorite viking and dragon duo until June 9, 2017.

There were no reasons given as to why the release date was being pushed back, but we can hazard a couple of guesses.

HTTYD2 struggled to take flight at the box office. While the film was well received, being considered “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, it did not make as much money as the first film did domestically (making $174 million, while the first had made $217 million.) Worldwide however, HTTYD2 made more money than its predecessor, and has finally crossed the $600 million mark this Labor Day weekend.

Director Dean DeBlois may also be working out the story with his team. Series composer John Powell has hinted in the past that there might be four films in the series, or that the third film would perhaps be broken into two parts (much like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.) While this news is by no means guaranteed, it is possible that DeBlois is looking into various story arcs and considering this possibility of a fourth film.

DreamWorks also confirmed that some of the major actors will return for the third installment. This includes Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), America Ferrera (Astrid), and Cate Blanchett (Valka.)

Well, hopefully this extra year will ensure the preservation of such an awesome series.