One of the more surprising hits of last year was the live-action remake of Universal and DreamWorks‘ “How to Train Your Dragon,” as the pic ended up earning an impressive $636.3 million at the worldwide box office, and the sequel “How to Train Your Dragon 2” was being fast-tracked into production with Canadian filmmaker Dean DeBlois (behind the original trilogy of animated films) returning to both write and direct. One of the animated franchise’s voice cast members, like Gerard Butler, will be reprising their role in the live-action follow-up.
A casting update comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, which has revealed that Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett (“Black Bag”) is coming back to portray the live-action version of Hiccup’s estranged mother, Valka Haddock (also, the wife of Butler’s Stoick the Vast), from the second installment unleashed back in 2014.
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Blanchett isn’t the only addition to the sequel’s cast, as Icelandic-American actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (“Severance,” “True Detective”) will be playing the film’s villain, Drago Bludvist, as pointed out in a previous casting report from Deadline from last week.
If you’re not familiar with the world created by author Cressida Cowell, the series of fantasy books turned into films focuses on an island of dragon-hunting Vikings, who eventually embrace the mythical creatures, and they live harmoniously together.
The official logline of the original animated film’s sequel via DreamWorks:
When Hiccup and Toothless discover a secret ice cave filled with hundreds of wild dragons and a mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of an epic battle to save the future of men and dragons!
Other returning cast members alongside Butler include Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, and Harry Trevaldwyn.
Audiences won’t have to wait too much longer for the sequel as “How To Train Your Dragon 2” is already slotted by Universal for a release date of June 11, 2017.
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