How To Train Your Dragon: Why The New Hiccup Actor Looks So Familiar

A new version of "How to Train Your Dragon" is hitting theaters this week, and with it comes a new Viking-in-the-making, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Originally voiced by Jay Baruchel, Hiccup is the odd duck of the island of Berk, whose locals spend their days fending off dragons that try to take their sheep or rain fire on the home of these oafish inhabitants. For Dean DeBlois' second take on this story (he directed the original animated movie back in 2010, and also directed this live-action version), a brand new Hiccup has been tasked with taming the franchise's beloved poster pet, Toothless, and this time he's played by 17-year-old actor Mason Thames.

It's not just learning how to train dragons that's on Thames' to-do list, though. The film's frontman is testing the fires of one of what many argue is one of the greatest trilogies ever made (this fan included). Thankfully, just like every other cast member in this live-action iteration of the film, Thames is perfectly cast for the role and does an excellent job of playing Hiccup, making it clear that if DreamWorks adapts the entire trilogy on which this franchise is based, he'll be able to handle things. Honestly, though, it should come as no surprise, because after taking on disturbing a child killer with the help of dead kid ghosts in one of the most impressive horror films in recent years, taming dragons really shouldn't be that difficult.

As trials by fire go, Mason Thames faced an immensely tough one when he starred in one of the best horror movies of 2022, "The Black Phone." Thames portrayed a mild-mannered school kid named Finney, who endures a nightmarish experience after being kidnapped by an elusive and feared child abductor known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). With no escape in sight, Finney's only hope lies in the mysterious calls he receives from a disconnected black phone on the wall of his prison. To his horror, these calls are from The Grabber's former victims who didn't make it out alive and are now lost forever, but are determined to ensure that Finney isn't the next one to join them.

Earning $161.4 million at the box office against a budget of $18 million, "The Black Phone" was a hit with both audiences and critics, achieving an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. /Film also praised the young star, saying, "Mason Thames absolutely knocks it out of the park here, carrying the movie with confidence and a sense of reality that you need in order to make the supernatural stuff hit home." Thames held his own acting alongside a frightening and unpredictable Hawke, ensuring that it was only a matter of time before he appeared in a big blockbuster like "How to Train Your Dragon." What might shock some, however, is that the young star is heading back into the world of "The Black Phone" with "Black Phone 2" arriving later this year.

As revealed in the latest trailer for the sequel, death is just a word, and one that Ethan Hawke's horrifying child-killer, The Grabber, looks to be easily overcoming in "Black Phone 2." Set for release during the prime time spooky season, the new film will see Thames' Finney revisiting the horrors he was forced to endure alongside his mysteriously gifted sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). Making calls from beyond the grave, Hawke's monstrous villain has somehow picked up the phone and is determined to never let go of his one victim that got away.

How that will play out in "Black Phone 2" has yet to be revealed, as Derrickson and his longtime screenwriting partner, C. Robert Cargill, are going off-page beyond the original short story they adapted. Nevertheless, it gives Thames more screen time to show just what kind of talent he has and prove he's totally capable of handling not one, but two franchises in the same year. Dragons, deranged psycho-killers from the dead, you name it — Thames can handle it all. You can witness it for yourself when "How to Train Your Dragon" soars into theaters this week on June 13, 2025, and "Black Phone 2" calls in on October 17, 2025.