How to Train Your Dragon director feels like "a bit of a hypocrite" because he's always found live-action remakes "disappointing"

How to Train Your Dragon director Dean DeBlois has revealed he feels hypocritical remaking the 2010 animated movie, as he usually finds live-action remakes to be "disappointing replacements" for the original.

"It kind of put my own convictions to the test and I feel like a bit of a hypocrite because I've always felt like live-action remakes are often disappointing replacements of the animated movie," DeBlois, who co-directed the original animated film, told CinemaBlend.

"But then I also thought, I don't wanna watch someone else do it, and this could be the opportunity to jump in with a big-budget movie with all of these amazing people working in a world that I know with characters that I love. And so if they're gonna do it, I wanna be involved."

Set in a world where Vikings and dragons have been enemies for generations, How to Train Your Dragon follows the unlikely bond between Hiccup, a young, awkward Viking, and his new dragon companion Toothless.

Jay Baruchel voiced Hiccup in the animated movie, but the live-action remake sees The Black Phone's Mason Thames take over the role. Meanwhile, Gerard Butler reprises his role from the animated movie as Hiccup's father Stoick the Vast, and Nick Frost and The Last of Us' Nico Parker have also joined the cast.

How to Train Your Dragon arrives on the big screen on June 13. In the meantime, get up to speed with the rest of this year's best upcoming movies with our guide to the biggest movie release dates of 2025.