Gerard Butler's Return to How To Train Your Dragon: A Live-Action Remake Win

The Exciting Return of Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler is returning to How To Train Your Dragon for the live-action remake, and that is exactly what the new movie needed. When it was announced that Universal was planning to reboot How To Train Your Dragon in live-action less than a decade after the animated trilogy came to a close, questions about who would play the main characters quickly popped up. The studio moved to cast Mason Thames and Nico Parker as the new Hiccup and Astrid, but it has now been confirmed that Gerard Butler will return as Stoick in the live-action How To Train Your Dragon remake.

Gerard Butler on Kandahar poster

The decision by the studio and director Dean DeBlois to bring Butler back is an exciting update for the movie. The opportunity to see the star play Stoick in live-action is something that many hoped would happen once the reboot was announced. While the original Hiccup and Astrid voice actors Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera were far too old to play the characters again in live-action, Gerard Butler was perfectly suited to retain his place as the gruff Viking leader. Furthermore, How To Train Your Dragon's live-action remake is sure to benefit in a few ways by keeping a franchise star like Gerard Butler around.

Stoick in How To Train Your Dragon The Hidden World

Gerard Butler's Star Power and Box Office Impact

One of the big benefits that comes from Gerard Butler's How To Train Your Dragon return could come at the box office. The actor is a very recognizable personality and someone who has carved out a niche as an action movie leading man over the years. He's found success through 300, Geostorm, and the Fallen franchise. Butler has even launched additional franchises thanks to the success of Plane and Den of Thieves. The How To Train Your Dragon remake will be very different from these other Gerard Butler franchises, but he is currently the biggest box office draw the series has.

To be fair, the How To Train Your Dragon movies are actually Gerard Butler's biggest box office hits of his career. The recognizability of the franchise IP is already high, pointing to the live-action movie likely becoming a success even if Butler did not return. However, Mason Thames and Nico Parker are not exactly household names at this stage of their young careers. Universal's ability to now feature Gerard Butler heavily in How To Train Your Dragon's marketing could go a long way in bringing in even more viewers come 2025.

Maintaining the Essence of the Original

The other positive that comes with Gerard Butler playing Stoick in the live-action How To Train Your Dragon comes with how the movie will compare to the original animated films. Live-action remakes are always compared to the previous iterations, as viewers debate the two versions. This can be especially true when it comes to the new cast members taking over iconic roles. The live-action How To Train Your Dragon will avoid this comparison when it comes to Stoick at least, as Gerard Butler can bring the same Scottish accent to the role. This should help viewers feel like the remake and the original movie are more in tune.