How To Train Your Dragon | Final Trailer (4K)

How to Train Your Dragon's live-action remake is set to improve Astrid immensely from her original incarnation in the animated movies. Astrid was one of the more important supporting characters in the original How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, serving initially as a rival to Hiccup before developing into his closest confidant and romantic interest over the course of the first movie. Although she was an important player in the story, the focus on Hiccup and Toothless meant that Astrid never took the spotlight for herself, resulting in a lack of greater character depth or personal agency for the character.

That's changed for 2025's live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon. While the film has been said to be a largely faithful recreation of the 2010 modern animated classic, some elements of the movie have been changed. During a media event attended by Screen Rant, How to Train Your Dragon director Dean DeBlois revealed that perhaps some of the biggest changes the story has made in expanding on Astrid, making her a deeper character with more personal reasons for her conflict with Hiccup. This highlights the film's unique balancing act in updating the story for live-action while remaining faithful.