Tag: Mason Thames

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Nick Frost Joins Gerard Butler As Gobber In Universal’s Live-Action Feature Version Of Viking Fantasy Pic ‘How To Train Your Dragon’

Universal Pictures and DreamWorks are teaming up for a live-action feature film version of their popular animated franchise “How To Train Your Dragon” with co-writer/director Dean DeBlois returning to oversee and helm the project. While the 2023 writers and actors’ strike placed the project on pause there is now finally some movement on the casting front with supporting roles being filled. It’s been revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that British actor Nick Frost is set to play Gobber in the live-action incarnation.

He’ll star alongside Gerard Butler (“Plane”), who is reprising the Stoick the Vast, the leader of the island-dwelling Viking clan that is known as legendary hunters and killers of dragons. Stoick is also the father of our protagonist, Hiccup (played by “The Black Phone” actor Mason Thames), who isn’t as brave as other townsfolk until he decides to train/tame a rare dragon type he calls Toothless leading the Vikings to eventually cohabitate with the fire-breathers as sort of a symbiotic relationship in subsequent installments after they have a change of heart. “The Last of Us” actress Nico Parker is also set in the role of Astrid and we’re still waiting who will be cast as the other young Viking characters.

The Gobber part was originally voiced by former late-night host Craig Ferguson in the animated movies.

Frost is maybe best known to audiences for his co-starring role in Edgar Wright’s “Cornetto Trilogy” which he co-wrote with creative partner and star, Simon Pegg. Those films include “Shaun of The Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End.” He also had a supporting part in “Attack The Block,” an alien invasion flick that introduced many of us to a young John Boyega.

Hiccup is a Norse teenager from the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. His progressive views and weird sense of humor make him a misfit, despite the fact that his father is chief of the clan. Tossed into dragon-fighting school, he endeavors to prove himself as a true Viking, but when he befriends an injured dragon he names Toothless, he has the chance to plot a new course for his people’s future.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘How To Train Your Dragon’: Universal’s Live-Action Remake Casts Mason Thames & Nico Parker In Lead Roles

Universal Pictures is putting together a live-action remake of the DreamWorks Animation fantasy films “How To Train Your Dragon” and it’s already slated by to be released on March 14, 2025 with Dean DeBlois set to direct. While there has been some early casting rumors, it looks like Universal has found their two big leads.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has recruited Mason Thames (“The Black Phone”) to play the film’s main protagonists, Hiccup, while “The Last of Us” actress Nico Parker has been tapped to play Astrid. The young actors are the first of many casting additions and we’re expecting to learn more names in the coming weeks/months.

In those original films, Hiccup is a son of a great Viking warrior/lead and is pretty much reluctant to follow in his father’s footsteps as a killer of dragons. When Hiccup discovers a rare dragon type he’s able to able train his new found friend in secret and starts to question the deadly relationship his village has with the dragons.

The film’s story originates from the book penned by British author Cressida Cowell. And with twelve full novels in the series, there is plenty of source material for Universal to pull from beyond those DreamWorks movies. That’s if they want to sort of do their own thing instead of making exact copies of the animated incarnations.

It’ll be interesting to see who else will be cast in the film, specifically as Hiccup’s father Stoick The Vast, the chief of the Hooligan Tribe. Stay tuned for more casting updates on the project as they come in.

Hiccup is a Norse teenager from the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. His progressive views and weird sense of humor make him a misfit, despite the fact that his father is chief of the clan. Tossed into dragon-fighting school, he endeavors to prove himself as a true Viking, but when he befriends an injured dragon he names Toothless, he has the chance to plot a new course for his people’s future.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER