Moana and Shazam! Actors Allegedly in Talks to Star in How To Train Your Dragon Live-Action

Disney’s not the only studio that can adapt animated movies into live-action. Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon is also looking to be adapted into live-action, and a rumor is going around that they may have found their leads Hiccup and Astrid.

According to insider Daniel Richtman (via @GeekVibesNation) Jack Dylan Grazer (Shazam!) and Auliʻi Cravalho (Moana) are currently in talks to star as the live-action Hiccup and Astrid. We don’t have any details beyond that, but I think both may actually be able to pull off the roles pretty well. Though some fans have already started complaining about Cravalho not being blonde or white enough to play the part of Astrid, I think her casting is supposed to reflect original Astrid actress America Ferrera, who is also Hispanic.

Then again, this is a fantasy world where kids train dragons, so I’m expecting some ethnically blind casting like they’ve been doing in Disney movies and shows like Hulu’s The Great.

While I think that they should just keep the HTTYD franchise in the animated realm, I’m still eager to watch them try and adapt the story to live-action. With fantasy being a semi-serious franchise nowadays, I’m wondering how they’ll be able to make a kid-friendly world of Vikings and dragons in live-action without scaring any new kids away from the story.

Here’s the movie synopsis:

Follows a young Viking as he aspires to hunt dragons, and how he becomes unexpectedly a friend of a young dragon.

The live-action How to Train Your Dragon is expected to hit theaters on March 14, 2025.