Gerard Butler will reprise his role of Stoic in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie, but which other voice actors could follow him?
SUMMARY
Gerard Butler is reprising his role of Stoic the Vast in the upcoming live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie, begging the question of whether others will do the same.
Cate Blanchett could reprise her role as Valka, bringing a sense of familiarity and continuity to the new film opposite Butler’s Stoic.
Kit Harington as Eret could seamlessly transition into the live-action adaptation, while Djimon Hounsou could take his amazing villain – Drago – and make him just as threatening in the remake.
A live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie was announced in 2023 by the director of the animated trilogy, Dean DeBlois. The film soon entered production, and will be released in 2025 as one of many How to Train Your Dragon movies and shows.
As production began, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon cast was slowly announced. The two lead characters of Hiccup and Astrid will be played by Mason Thames and Nico Parker respectively, while Nick Frost will play Gobber.
Interestingly, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon has re-hired one of the voice actors from the original animated film for the same role: Gerard Butler as Stoic the Vast. With this in mind, many began wondering which other original voice actors could do the same in what is hopefully a high-ranked How to Train Your Dragon remake.
The mother of Hiccup who is introduced in How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Given that Gerard Butler is reprising his role as Stoic, Hiccup’s father, it would make sense for Cate Blanchett to do the same as Valka. Unlike the child characters of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon who have all been recast to better fit their ages, the older characters do not have this issue. Like Butler as Stoic, Blanchett stood out as Valka in the original How to Train Your Dragon series, meaning a reprisal could be perfect.
Blanchett already knows the role, the character, and the dynamics she has, meaning a reprisal would only add to the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie.
Just as Stoic was in How to Train Your Dragon, Valka was the heart of How to Train Your Dragon 2 concerning how it elevated Hiccup’s character. Not only that, but both Stoic and Valka were bettered as characters via their reunion.
As such, having Blanchett reprise her role as Valka would add a sense of familiarity to her and Stoic’s relationship that was present in How to Train Your Dragon 2. Blanchett already knows the role, the character, and the dynamics she has, meaning a reprisal would only add to the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie.
2. Kit Harington as Eret
The turncoat dragon trapper under the command of Drago Bludvist.
Another character introduced in How to Train Your Dragon 2 was Eret. Eret was voiced by Kit Harington of Game of Thrones fame and was a dragon trapper working for the film’s villain, Drago Bludvist.
Like the characters of Stoic and Valka, Eret was depicted as being older than the core children who led the series, meaning Harington reprising his role would fit the original character’s age. Similarly, Harington’s previous acting experience would mean he would fit the role of Eret in live-action.
From skills in swordplay to being familiar with older customs, Harington could perform a live-action version of Eret with ease.
As Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, Harington became well-versed in medieval-themed filmmaking. From skills in swordplay to being familiar with older customs, Harington could perform a live-action version of Eret with ease.
Also, Harington’s Jon Snow was one of the more likable characters in Game of Thrones, something that could aid Eret’s character arc as he began as a villain who quickly became a favorable hero on the side of Hiccup. From his older age to previous experience, Kit Harington could follow in the footsteps of Gerard Butler and reprise his How to Train Your Dragon role in live-action.
Harington also looks the most like his animated counterpart, further supporting his reprisal in live-action.
1. Djimon Hounsou as Drago Bludvist
The primary villain of How to Train Your Dragon 2 stood out thanks to Hounsou.
Above many other characters in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, Djimon Hounsou’s voice-acting stood out as Drago Bludvist. Given that the other voice actors were fantastic across all three films, this is only a testament to how menacing, threatening, and dangerous Hounsou sounded as Drago.
This fantastic voice performance propelled Drago Bludvist to become the best villain in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, something that Hounsou could replicate in live-action if he reprised his role.
As with Harington and Blanchett, Hounsou’s recasting would match his animated character. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, it is mentioned that Drago used to be a peer of Stoic; Gerard Butler is 54 years old, and Djimon Hounsou is 59 years old.
This would allow their character’s history to work within a timeline while allowing Hounsou to pour all the malice of his original voice performance into a physical one. In doing so, Hounsou could craft a fantastic live-action How to Train Your Dragon villain, just as he did in 2014 with the voice of Drago Bludvist.
