Oscar-Winning Star Returns for Live-Action How to Train Your Dragon 2
An Academy Award winner from the original How to Train Your Dragon cast is set to reprise their role in Universal’s live-action sequel, soaring into theaters June 11, 2027.
Alright, let's cut to the chase: Universal just dropped some pretty interesting news for anyone following their live-action How to Train Your Dragon series. The next movie has a release date—June 11, 2027—and a familiar face (or at least, voice) is officially jumping from the animated world to live-action: Cate Blanchett will play Valka again.
Cate Blanchett Is Back as Valka
This is a bit of a fun surprise, because Cate Blanchett, who played Valka (aka Hiccup's long-lost mom) in the 2014 animated sequel, is coming back—this time in the flesh. If you missed it the first time around, Valka was presumed dead but actually spent years learning how to communicate with dragons. She's basically the dragon whisperer Hiccup takes after. Now, Blanchett steps into the live-action version, reuniting mother and son all over again—but with real people, not pixels.
This move makes Blanchett just the second original cast member to cross over into the live-action version, right after Gerard Butler, who plays Stoick the Vast (Hiccup's not-so-subtle dad).
Blanchett joining the cast probably isn't a massive shock for folks who remember her as Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings films. She seems to thrive on mystical parent vibes.
The Returning Team and Cast
The key creative folks return too. Dean DeBlois—writer, director, and producer—sticks around for both script duties and overseeing the whole thing. This series is still adapting Cressida Cowell's original children's books, so expect the vibe to keep balancing big spectacle with coming-of-age beats.
If you're wondering who's playing who, here's where everything stands:
- Mason Thames as Hiccup
- Nico Parker as Astrid
- Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast
- Nick Frost as Gobber
- Julian Dennison as Fishlegs
- Gabriel Howell as Snotlout
- Browyn James as Ruffnut
- Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut
- And now, officially, Cate Blanchett as Valka
Marc Platt and Adam Siegel handle producing duties. Not a small number of moving parts, for sure.
Big Shoes to Fill from the First Movie
Worth noting: The 2025 live-action How to Train Your Dragon did serious business, raking in more than $631 million worldwide. It also landed a 77% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes—not perfect, but solid, and about what you'd expect from a franchise balancing nostalgia and the nerve-wracking business of milking an old favorite.
What Else Is Cate Blanchett Up To?
Blanchett keeps busy. In case you missed her non-dragon-related projects, she recently teamed up with Adam Driver for the comedy-drama Father Mother Sister Brother. She's also got a bizarre sci-fi comedy on the way called Alpha Gang, where she co-stars with Chris Pine and Dave Bautista. Never accuse her of predictable choices.
The bottom line: Universal knows what they're doing, keeping big names on board and hoping lightning strikes twice. If you see dragons flying around your timeline in 2027, now you know why.