The live-action iteration of How to Train Your Dragon is prepping to shoot for four months from January, in Northern Ireland. 
 

Prep had got well underway in Belfast earlier this year, when the feature had been due to film from August, but it became a casualty of the US strikes and, as with so many major inward investment projects lined up in the UK, had to reschedule. 
 

The live-action feature follows on from the hit trilogy of films, with Canadian director and animator Dean DeBlois (pictured) – who also wrote and helmed the original trio – back in the director’s chair, once again calling the shots from his own screenplay.

The feature is from Marc Platt Productions for Universal; Platt produces alongside DeBlois and Adam Siegel. 
 

How to Train Your Dragon was one of a tranche of inward investment projects in the UK that were delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike action – many had already begun filming and, in the case of dual-feature Wicked, were close to wrapping when the suspension kicked in. 

Dean DeBlois image via Gage Skidmore and Creative Commons.