Published Aug 13, 2026, 11:55 AM EDT

EXCLUSIVE: Mason Thames is excited for audiences to see How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Thames returns to lead the star-studded cast of the fantasy sequel as Hiccup, who has successfully made his village of Berk a peaceful space of co-existence for humans and dragons. Development on the How to Train Your Dragon follow-up was announced before the live-action remake hit theaters, with Universal secure in their decision after it soared to a $636 million box office haul and scored largely positive reviews from critics, who deemed it a rare live-action remake that worked.

Now, in an interview with ScreenRant's Tatiana Hullender for the dark comedy thriller Idiots, Thames has offered an exciting early review for How to Train Your Dragon 2. Though careful not to share too much, the Hiccup actor beamed about being "very proud" of the fantasy adventure sequel, and teasing that the creative team "[took] what we did with the first movie and [brought] it to a new level," both in its "worldbuilding and in maturing it up a little bit":

Mason Thames: I think audiences will really enjoy what we did. But I've seen a couple things. I've seen a couple of pictures and videos of me on Toothless, and it's looking really cool.

Thames' Idiots co-star O'Shea Jackson Jr. proceeded to ask if he also felt that the pre-visualization step in the post-production process is "so annoying," to which Thames described it being a "crazy" experience to see CG models of himself as Hiccup in lieu of his practical body. Jackson Jr. went on to recall the humorous realization he had when working on Godzilla: King of the Monsters:

O'Shea Jackson Jr.: Yeah, I did Godzilla, and the pre-visuals annoyed the hell out of me. I'm excited as hell to do Godzilla. I'm a Godzilla fan, so I'm pumped! I'm super excited on the first day, then I'm like, "I'm not going to see Godzilla for a year and a half. It's just going to be me in the dailies running for my life."

Mason Thames: It's all CGI, so some scenes, people are walking around, and then it's just me on a stool.

O'Shea Jackson Jr.: They're like, "O'Shea, look at this take!" And it's just me running from an orange H. It's just not fun until you see it.

Thames is being joined by a star-studded cast in his How to Train Your Dragon 2 return, which includes both new and familiar faces. Nico Parker and Gerard Butler are back as Astrid and Stoick the Vast, as are Nick Frost as Gobber, Gabriel Howell as Snotlout, Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, Bronwyn James as Ruffnut and Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut. More notably, Cate Blanchett will be reprising her role as Valka, while Ólafur Darri Ólafsson will play the villainous Drago, and Phil Dunster stars as Eret.

Considering filming only just wrapped on How to Train Your Dragon 2 back in May, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Thames has not yet seen a full version of the film. The first movie took roughly a year to put together its visual effects in post-production before making its premiere at 2025's CinemaCon, and with the sequel being touted as even bigger than its predecessor, it may very well need some extra time by comparison.

Even though the film may not yet be finished, it's not necessarily bad news, given there is still a little under a year until How to Train Your Dragon 2's scheduled June 11, 2027 release date. It also seems likely that the sequel will similarly aim to make its world premiere at 2027's CinemaCon a few months prior, given its predecessor's premiere came with rave early reactions and helped further fuel the anticipation for the live-action remake.

Release Date June 11, 2027

Director Dean DeBlois

Writers Dean DeBlois

Producers Marc Platt, Adam Siegel

Cast

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  Mason Thames

  Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

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  Gerard Butler

  Stoick the Vast

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  Nick Frost

  Gobber the Belch

Follow-up to 2025's live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon.