Gerard Butler to play his How to Train Your Dragon character again in live-action remake

The Scottish actor provided the voice of Hiccup’s dad, Stoick, in the original animated movie.

The Scottish actor is set to reprise his role as the burly Viking leader Stoick in Universal’s live-action remake of the DreamWorks animated movie How to Train Your Dragon, EW has confirmed. He’s the first legacy cast member to make the jump, which will reteam him with Dean DeBlois, who returns to write, direct and produce the newest entry in the popular franchise.

Joining Butler are previously announced stars Mason Thames and Nico Parker, who will star as Hiccup and Astrid. Further casting has yet to be revealed.

Plot details are also scant, but the studio has promised that the live-action adaptation will be “rooted in stories that are as sweeping as they are intimate” and will “draw audiences deep into DreamWorks Animation’s imaginative lore.”

The first film in the animated franchise was released in 2010, and captivated audiences with the unlikely friendship of an adolescent Viking named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and a fearsome Night Fury dragon named Toothless and their wild adventures together. Sequels How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World followed in 2014 and 2019. To date the franchise has earned more than $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office and garnered four Academy Award nominations. The films are based on the best-selling books by Cressida Cowell.

The live-action How to Train Your Dragon is slated to hit theaters June 13, 2025.