In responding to the deluge of pushback to his decision to race-swap Astrid, live-action How to Train Your Dragon director Dean DeBlois has argued that it ultimately does not matter if the young dragon rider’s physical appearance matches that of her animated depiction because he is not trying to make “a shot-for-shot remake” of the original film.
Making her franchise debut in the animated film trilogy rather than Cressidia Cowell’s original YA novel, Astrid is depicted as a typical Scandanvian woman, bearing braided blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin – as well as an axe that could take the head clean off anyone who would stand in her way.
However, in the live-action remake, the heroine bears a much different appearance. Thanks to her being played by actress Nico Parker (the daughter of Thandiwe Newton, who readers may know best as the Val, the love interest to Woody Harrelson’s Tobias, in Solo: A Star Wars Story), this version of Astrid instead has dark skin, green/hazel eyes, and curly-but-still-braided brown hair.
First look at Astrid and Snotlout in the live-action ‘HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON’ film.
— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) November 19, 2024
In theaters on June 13. pic.twitter.com/i13JVT6Mzq
And regardless of Parker’s individual talent, in light of her casting existing as yet another example of blatant race-swapping, recent months have seen fans on social media take to voicing their discontent with what they view as the latest example of Hollywood’s tendency to disrespect the source materials that made a given IP so popular in the first place.
To this end, DeBlois, who in addition to helming the upcoming remake also served as the writer and director of all three animated How to Train Your Dragon movies (with the first also being co-written and co-directed by Lilo & Stitch creator Chris Sanders), weighed in on the ongoing discourse surrounding Astrid’s live-action appearance via a post made to his personal Instagram on November 21st.
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Sharing a screen of “a reply I made to a comment on a HTTYD-related Instagram page”, the identity of which currently remains unknown, DeBlois can be seen therein affirming the declaration made by another user that “[Parker’s casting] is not about the color it’s about the acting”.
“Exactly,” wrote the director. “We auditioned many actors for the roles, including actors who looked like their animated counterparts. But we chose the actors who best embodied the spirit and personality of the characters, since the [Hairy Hooligan] tribe in this version is made up of descendants of the finest dragon fighters from everywhere the Vikings had ever traveled (which historically was far and wide – Vikings mixed with many cultures).”
“Still, we’re crafting a fantasy, not historical fact, and all will be revealed in time,” he then argued. “We’re not making a shot for shot remake. We just stuck close to key moments to honor the original – which I remain very proud of.”
Drawing his thoughts to a close, DeBlois ultimately asserted, “The teaser features a few of those moments. Instead of a completely new tale, we aimed to embellish and deepened, without abandoning the story that fans love.”
At current, DeBlois’ live-action take on How to Train Your Dragon is set to retell the story of Hiccup and Toothless’ friendship starting on June 13th, 2025.