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New Details on 'Epic' Sequel to 'How to Train Your Dragon' Revealed

by Alex Billington
February 7, 2011
Source: THR

We know there are many fans out there who will be rooting for DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon to win a couple of Oscars on the 27th, so this news is to keep them, and everyone else who loves that animated flick, salivating until then. THR talked with some animation folks at last night's Annie Awards (the ones Disney boycotted). Not only did they learn that Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the first movie, is currently working on the second draft of the screenplay, but DeBlois and more spoke about how "epic" of a sequel we can expect. "This truly is a second chapter in a larger story," he revealed. Read on!

DeBlois tells them about how they're expanding for the sequels - not just one, but two more, for a trilogy.

"I turned in the script before the holidays, and got some notes back and I'm working on a second draft," DeBlois, who will write and direct the sequel, told THR at Saturday's Annie Awards. "It's going to be quite epic. We are treating How To Train Your Dragon as the first act in a much larger story. As we head into this one, the world expands. Everything is much bigger with still the heartfelt qualities that made the first one resonate so much with audiences. There are no longer restrictions to this tiny island in the North Sea. They have the entire Northern hemisphere within their grasp."

Now that sounds pretty cool. DeBlois adds, "The only way of tracing the story is to draw on elements that were in the first movie and set up elements for a third movie, so it doesn't feel like a random adventure with the same five or six characters." So they're pulling an Avatar, or Matrix, or Pirates 2 & 3, or whatever - two back-to-back sequels on the way, which we'd sort of heard about before. This was originally inspired by a series of children's novels by Cressida Cowell and they have plenty to draw from, even beyond a trilogy. But, as producer Bonnie Arnold also tells THR, they're sticking with the story of the two unlikely friends:

"It's going to be more fun adventures with Hiccup and Toothless. There will be some new dragons and maybe some new characters. It's the further adventures of Hiccup on his journey of becoming a man and the ultimate leader of the Viking clan."

It sounds like they're definitely handling this with care, as the moments between Hiccup and Toothless were the best in the movie. Chris Sanders, one half of the creative genius behind Dragon who also co-directed, will only executive produce the sequel, as he's working on writing & directing The Croods for DreamWorks. The sequel to How to Train Your Dragon will move beyond the small, North Sea island that was the setting of the original film as it traces the further adventures of Hiccup as he grows toward becoming the leader of his Viking clan. We reported that most of the voice cast will return, including Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig. DreamWorks Animation currently has HTTYD2 scheduled for release in 2013. Cool?

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