Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Super Bowl Trailer: The Original Score Is Back To Make You Cry Again

The latest trailer for Universal's live-action update of "How to Train Your Dragon" is here, once again making us wonder: Why do we need this movie when the animated version is already great? The new footage offers no answers, but by dropping during Super Bowl LIX, it'll no doubt inspire a few million more people to ask the question.

Admittedly, this new installment in the franchise (which began with the cartoon feature of the same name in 2010) does have a few things going for it, including the return of original trilogy writer-director Dean DeBlois and an animation style that somehow manages to capture the overwhelming cuteness of its heroic black dragon, Toothless. 

The first trailer for the live-action "How to Train Your Dragon," which dropped in November 2024 before screening in theaters with Universal's "Wicked," didn't stray from the original film much at all in terms of its visuals or plot beats. It did, however, offer some sweet moments — like a recreation of the poster shot from the 2010 animated movie in which the Viking Hiccup pets his faithful dragon friend for the first time.

"BlackBerry" and "This is the End" actor Jay Baruchel originated the role of hesitant warrior-to-be Hiccup in 2010, and voiced the protagonist in several animated films and shows in the intervening years, but "The Black Phone" star Mason Thames will take over the part for the live-action remake. The film's cast will also include "The Last of Us" alum Nico Parker, Cornetto trilogy comedian Nick Frost, "Wicked" supporting player Bronwyn James, and Mike Flanagan's secret weapon, Ruth Codd. It'll also star Gerard Butler, the only actor reprising his role — as Stoic the Vast, Hiccup's father — from the animated movies.

Despite the fact that the live-action remake seems to be hitting the exact same beats as the original movie, including replicating shots almost exactly as they appeared in the animated predecessor, we gotta say that triumphant score does make our heart swell. But it's going to take more than a familiar theme to make this movie pull at our hearstrings like the original. 

Even so, questions about the necessity of this remake are likely beside the point for Universal, a company that has already made buckets of money on "How to Train Your Dragon" projects since it acquired DreamWorks in 2016. Aside from the three animated films, the world of Hiccup and Toothless (which, it should be noted, was based on a book series by author Cressida Cowell) has inspired three different cartoon TV shows, several video games, six or so short films, comic books, theme park attractions, and even an ice show. According to box office site The Numbers, the "How to Train Your Dragon" films have so far raked in over $1.6 billion worldwide. For the studio behind the "Shrek," "Kung Fu Panda," and "Madagascar" movies, sequels and remakes are major money-makers.

But will audiences actually show up for the live-action retelling of "How To Train Your Dragon"? With a decade and a half since the first film's release, it might have a nostalgia factor in its favor, and kids that grew up with the movie could be eager to see a new version of it ... or not. 

We'll find out when "How to Train Your Dragon" hits regular and IMAX theaters on June 13, 2025.