After 2025 How to train your dragon announced its live-action cast, some viewers openly criticized the casting of Nico Parker as Astrid because of her race, which by now is a tiresome discussion in Hollywood. How to train your dragon originated as a 2010 animated film by DreamWorks, which follows a teenage Viking named Hiccup who discovers that the dragons his people fight may not be as bad as they seem. After two successful sequels, the franchise is now being converted to live-action, à la Disney. While the film is certainly popular, some backlash is almost inevitable.
There’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to live action How to Train Your Dragon. The film was written and directed by Dean DeBlois, who directed the animation How to train your dragon filmsmeaning the integrity of the story will almost definitely be maintained. Additionally, Gerard Butler, who voiced Hiccup’s father in the original, is also reprising his role in the live-action adaptation. With the addition of CGI dragons and an appropriately young cast, this film could be a box office hit when it opens in June 2025. The only problem is the premature casting controversy.
The reaction to Nico Parker’s Astrid casting explained
Race and film cast history explained
Although many members of the public are excited about How to train your dragon live action cast, others are not very pleased. The main issue appears to be the casting of Nico Parker as Astrid. In the original How to Train Your Dragon, Astrid appeared as a white woman, but Parker is black. Many have argued that Parker’s race doesn’t make sense because the Vikings were historically white. Some have gone so far as to claim that Parker’s casting is cultural appropriation. DeBlois responded to these criticisms by noting that How to train your dragon It’s fantasy, not history.
Backlash against Parker’s casting is nothing new in Hollywood. In recent years, many remakes and adaptations have changed the race of certain characters. In 2014, Quvenzhané Wallis played the iconic red-haired orphan Annie, and many viewers didn’t like this change. More recently, the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid it also left the audience upset. Ultimately, these arguments raise important questions about the diversity of representation in films and how much creative integrity remakes can have. It looks like this type of debate isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
Why Astrid’s Casting Backlash Is Absurd
How to Train Your Dragon Is Far from Historically Accurate
The backlash against Parker’s casting as Astrid is generally ridiculous. Society may have an image in its head of what the Vikings were like, but this idea is probably far from reality. As DeBlois explained on Instagram, the Vikings were nomads and traveled far and wide. Therefore, it is entirely possible that Black Vikings existed. Even so, this argument about historical accuracy is useless. Perhaps Black people weren’t Vikings, but there are no dragons either. If How to train your dragon it had to be historically accurate, so there wouldn’t be much of a film.
To reiterate DeBlois’s main point, How to train your dragon it was supposed to be a fantasy dragon movie. Because of this, the characters’ race is irrelevant. Additionally, DeBlois pointed out that in the live-action iteration, the dragon riders come from all walks of life, so Parker’s run makes sense. For the audience, the most important aspect of casting should be whether the actor can portray the character successfully. According to DeBlois, Parker auditioned the best, so viewers should trust that regardless of her skin color, Parker can embody Astrid’s personality.
Astrid’s reaction won’t hurt How to train your dragon
How successful will it be how to train your dragon
Happily, the reaction against How to train your dragon casting probably won’t have a huge effect on success of the film. The Little Mermaid received a notable backlash, but grossed $569 million at the box office. These arguments against the race of actors are certainly disheartening, but they don’t completely ruin a film’s image or chances of positive reaction. These arguments are likely to calm down over time and eventually be completely forgotten.
In general, 2025 How to train your dragon looks like it could be a really amazing movie. The animated franchise was a box office and critical success, which means the live-action adaptation could easily be the same. In a media landscape filled with remakes and sequels, this is a live-action remake that feels deserved. How to train your dragon could be considered an underrated gem, so its new life as a live-action film could be a huge step forward for the franchise, regardless of its controversy.