Mason Thames Teases Major Filming Milestone for How to Train Your Dragon 2
Mason Thames says cameras are set to roll soon on How to Train Your Dragon 2, the live-action remake of the 2014 sequel and follow-up to this year’s reboot—signaling the franchise’s real-world saga is speeding ahead into its next chapter.
Dragons are getting back in the air sooner than expected. Mason Thames just gave a clear-as-day update on when the live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2 starts rolling cameras, and the timeline is tight.
When filming actually starts
At New York Comic Con 2025, Thames told ComingSoon that as soon as he wraps his October press run for two other movies, he is on a plane to London to start shooting the sequel. Translation: filming is set to kick off in late October or early November 2025.
"I get about three days and then I go. Three days is enough to pack and get one good night's rest and then I'm off and I'm so excited for that."
Wait, which Dragon movie is this?
This is the live-action follow-up to this year's live-action How to Train Your Dragon, and it is essentially the remake of the 2014 animated sequel. The handoff is clean: writer/director Dean DeBlois, who remade his own 2010 animated original into live action, is expected to be back for round two. If you missed the first live-action outing, it retold Hiccup and Toothless' unlikely bond in a Viking world that still thinks dragons are a problem to be solved, not partners to befriend.
Who is coming back, and who was in the last one?
Thames returns as Hiccup, with Nico Parker back as Astrid and Gerard Butler reprising Stoick the Vast. The live-action movie released earlier this year also starred Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch, Gabriel Howell as Snotlout, Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, Bronwyn James as Ruffnut, Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut, and Peter Serafinowicz as Spitelout.
- October 17, 2025: Thames opens Black Phone 2
- October 24, 2025: Thames stars in Regretting You
- Late Oct/Early Nov 2025: Flies to London; How to Train Your Dragon 2 begins filming
- June 11, 2027: How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theaters via Universal Pictures
Bottom line: the sequel is locked in, the cameras fire up right after Thames wraps his October releases, and Universal already planted the flag for June 11, 2027.