Thanks to movies like Olympus Has Fallen and Plane, Gerard Butler has established himself as a gruff action hero for the modern age.

Nonetheless, his most beloved film was the animated, family-friendly How To Train Your Dragon, a movie in which he voiced the protagonist’s father. Now, it looks like Butler will be reprising his role in a most unexpected way: he will once again play Stoick in Universal Pictures’ live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon.

Part of what makes Gerard Butler reprising his role in the live-action How To Train Your Dragon is that he is seemingly the only member of the original cast to do so. For example, the important roles of Hiccup and Astrid have been recast and will now be played by Mason Thames and Nico Parker.

Those two are replacing the original voice actors Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera, both of whom are now admittedly too old to convincingly play very young characters in a live-action film.

Gerard Butler voices Stoic in the How To Train Your Dragon animated movies

Why, then, did Gerard Butler get to come back and reprise his role? While the producers haven’t explicitly given this as a reason, we think it probably has something to do with the aforementioned fact that Butler has become a reliable action star who frequently headlines blockbuster films.

Casting him instantly gives the new cast a kind of name recognition it wouldn’t otherwise have, and as a bonus, bringing back at least one of the original stars is likely to make fans of the original How To Train Your Dragon films happy.

Those fans of the original films are likely to be even more excited that Dean DeBlois is directing the film than they are that Gerard Butler is starring in it. DeBlois is the man who directed the three How To Train Your Dragon animated films, so he’s the perfect choice to shepherd this popular film series into live-action.

Additionally, DeBlois directed the fan-favorite Disney film Lilo & Stitch (which is also getting a live-action remake), and we think that alone merits him being crowned an absolute animation legend.
Gerard Butler voices Stoic in the How To Train Your Dragon animated movies

In addition to directing the film, DeBlois will serve as writer and producer of the new How To Train Your Dragon film, which means it should definitely have the same charming spirit as the previous animated films.

We don’t quite know what this film will be about, though: it may be a live-action remake of the original film, or it may do something entirely new with the lore. It’s unlikely to deviate much from the formula that made those films such a success (those three animated movies earned Universal more than $1.6 billion at the box office).

We’re excited to see How To Train Your Dragon make the leap into live-action, and we’re even more hyped to see what Gerard Butler can do once he returns to his beloved role.

Unfortunately, fans will have to be patient, as this film won’t premiere until June 13, 2025. Like Toothless, it may take some time for this one to take flight, but we think it will do some great things once it spreads its wings.