A running theme of the How To Train Your Dragon franchise (mainly the two movies, for the DreamWorks Dragons series has been kinder) seeks to place the titular creatures in as much life-threatening peril as possible. It’s a torturous endeavor to witness, but an irresistible one nonetheless, as protagonist Hiccup must endeavor to save his puppylike dragon, Toothless, from all manner of villains. Yet as this new trailer for the feature film trilogy’s final installment (subtitled The Hidden World) reveals, the franchise might soon give Hiccup a permanent break from his struggle, albeit in the most heartbreaking of manners.
This new trailer revives moments where Toothless encounters a lady dragon and performs an adorable mating dance, which (as it turns out) could actually be the beginning of a goodbye between beloved pet and owner. We now hear the voice of the returning Gerard Butler (Mild Spoiler Alert: His character bites it in the second movie) as viking Stoick the Vast, who once told his son that it’s his destiny to one day find the dragons’ hidden world. It’s deep within this utopia where dragons can find refuge from dangers of humanity.
Naturally, there will be no shortage of moments where the audience will be wondering whether the last surviving Night Fury will disappear forever, in sickness or in health, with the Light Fury. One realizes that there will be some sort of happy ending to this third and final HTTYD installment, yet in the process, the audience’s hearts will fall to pieces. At least there will be striking visuals and plenty of adventure as Hiccup strikes out on a rescue mission, but do we really have to learn that the species can’t coexist together? *Sigh*
How To Train Your Dragon: 3 arrives in theaters on March 1, 2019, so you’ve got plenty of time to stock up on tissues. Get cracking.
