‘Dragons: Race to the Edge’ Second WonderCon Interview Expands on Details

Even though we have yet to see any clips or promotional images from DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge, we have received a massive deluge of details on what the series will be about, the new dragons we will encounter, and the new (and returning) characters we will meet.

Even though this year’s WonderCon is already finished and on the books, at least one more tantalizing object has surfaced from the convention: a filmed roundtable interview from Pixelated Geek (courtesy of Berk’s Grapevine) with executive producers/showrunners Art Brown and Douglas Sloan along with Kelly Kulchak, head of current programming for DreamWorks Animation Television.

Watch the interview here:

Most of the information viewers will learn throughout the majority of the interview is stuff one would already know about if he or she has read our previous articles. This being said, we do come across some juicy tidbits that weren’t previously expounded on until now.

These tidbits are (in no particular order):

–Alfred Molina’s character (one of the villains in Race to the Edge) is named Vigo (if that’s how it’s spelled).

–A particularly BIG one here: Heather will return in Race to the Edge (with Mae Whitman set to reprise her role).

–Heather will have her own dragon in Race to the Edge. While the species of the dragon is unknown at this time, it does have a name: Windshear.

–Expect Heather to be more heavily involved in Race to the Edge. Besides her new dragon, she will also have a major storyline that will see her confront another fan-favorite character: Dagur the Deranged!

–As Race to the Edge is later in the How to Train You Dragon timeline than previous seasons, expect plenty of easter eggs and plot lines that build toward How to Train Your Dragon 2. In particular, how the love triangle between Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut came to be will be explained.

–This isn’t about Race to the Edge per say, but Sloan, Brown, and Kulchak do talk about how far they have come since Riders of Berk. When they started Riders of Berk, Sloan admits that it was a tough ride up. He and Brown were not only new to the How to Train Your Dragon universe, but the CG animation also “wasn’t there yet.” They then praise the level of animation in Race to the Edge. They particularly mention the more lifelike physics of elements, such as water interaction.

–Brown and Sloan elaborated that, while they may not be a laugh-a-minute sitcom, they are always careful to balance out drama with humor. Furthermore, it is even more important that the humor is character-based. It’s not random hijinks, as the humor always comes from the personalities of the characters and their interactions.

–When producers get high-profile stars to come on to the show, it’s usually because these actors want to do this show. Both Alfred Molina and Adelaide Kane have expressed interest in and a desire to be a part the Dragons show.

–This one is interesting: even though Dragons is a TV series (which normally means turning over the characters to a set of TV actors), Jay Baruchel wasn’t willing to let that happen. As far as he was concerned, the role of Hiccup was his and he very much owns it.

–Touching back on Heather, Brown says that she becomes a major part of the Dragon Riders in Race to the Edge. This essentially confirms that Heather will join the Riders on their journeys throughout the season.

–They also confirm that David Tennent will return as Spitelout (Snotlout’s dad). Also to return is Zack Pearlman as the TV voice for Snoutlout. No word yet on whether or not Andree Vermeulen will return as the TV voice for Ruffnut.

–According to Kelly Kulchak, the aim for all of DreamWorks’ Netflix shows is to do “cable-level” animation. She mentions the high-end production values of shows like Game of Thrones and the desire to give all of their shows the same kind of quality one would expect from shows of that caliber.

–Near the end of the interview, both Brown and Sloan reiterate that the focal point of the show (and the entire franchise as a whole) is Hiccup and Toothless. It’s their relationship that is always the centerpiece of the franchise.

–There’s apparently a “ton of cool stuff” that can’t be talked about yet. Kulchak even mentions that there may be something at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (which sounds very exciting).

By this point, it’s fairly obvious that, for all the information that we have on Race to the Edge, there is still more to come. As such, we will keep you updated when more details come our way.

Dragons: Race to the Edge will premiere exclusively on Netflix on June 26. Be sure to check out The DRAGONS TV Recap series here (Parts 1 and 2 of Defenders of Berk will be out next week!).

What do you think? Do you have any thoughts on the information above? Are you looking forward to Race to the Edge?

EDIT: According to the ‘Cast & Crew’ info on the official website, Andree Vermeulen will reprise her role as the TV voice of Ruffnut.

Edited by: Hannah Wilkes