When both Hiccup and Stoick tend to harp on something, one just has to agree.
In Hiccup’s words: ‘I’m not allowed to say anything. This is what I’ll say, and for whatever it’s worth I do swear that this is not just promo nonsense. It’s by far, the strongest of the stories (of the 3). It’s the movie that the series requires and deserves and it’s the rightful third chapter or third act, I should say. I don’t think anybody will be disappointed.’
In the meantime, Stoick said: ‘So I have How to Train Your Dragon, which I just did my bit on and it’s so beautiful I think it might be the best of the lot.’
Needless to say, we are talking about Jay Baruchel as our Hiccup and Gerard Butler as our Stoick in question.
After a good number of changes in the release dates, the latest news is that How to Train Your Dragon 3 will hit the screens in March 2019 – almost this time, next year. Though Stoick the Vast, much to our dismay, sacrificed himself in order to save his son in the second movie, fans have their hopes high to catch a glimpse of him by means of flashbacks or dream sequences in the third part of the series, especially since Butler is involved in talking about the movie.
Image courtesy: Flickr
Written by Dean DeBlois, the final film will have the much-loved voices of Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), Kit Harrington (Eret), America Ferrera (Astrid) and Cate Blanchett (Valka), amongst others. Part 2 ended with the formidable pair of Hiccup and Toothless defeating Drago and the Bewilderbeast, emerging to become the Chief of Berk. The story will pick up from there itself.
A new and villainous addition to the HTTYD3 cast is the negative character of Grimmel, voiced by Oscar-winning F. Murray Abraham. Chris deFaria, head of DreamWorks Animation Film Group had this to say: ‘We are thrilled that F. Murray Abraham has joined our How to Train Your Dragon 3 cast as the villainous Grimmel. This character brings a captivating new story line to the culmination of our trilogy. There is a gentlemanly calm to this sinister role, one that dovetails beautifully with this iconic actor’s immense range and talents.’
Having amassed approximately $1.1 billion worldwide at the box office, the first two films together also hold the distinction of three Oscar nominations – one for John Powell’s original score for the movie in Part 1 and the remaining two for best animated feature film. Time will tell how Part 3 will fare but if the fan following and hype are anything to go by, it is well poised to surpass its prequels in terms of popularity.
Nevertheless, the culmination of the endearing franchise is bound to break many, many hearts. The last leg of the story is touted to be a duel to the end – where man and dragon both make the hard decision to do what is best for their kind. Will it lead to them going their separate ways? Predictably yes, and (un)happily ever after!