How to Train Your Dragon Director Reveals Why Two Key Scenes Were Cut from the Live-Action Movie

How to Train Your Dragon’s Director Opens Up About Cutting Key Scenes

The 2025 live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon is now available for digital purchase and streaming, with physical releases on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K coming August 12. This edition includes some fascinating behind-the-scenes content and commentary, plus two deleted scenes that echo moments from the original 2010 animated film.

Why two scenes were cut from the live-action movie
Details about the deleted sequences and their impact
Reasons the live-action version is longer despite cuts

Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the original animated film and helmed the live-action remake solo, shared in an exclusive interview that cutting these scenes was tough but necessary. He explained, “We shot them, so we had every intention of having them in the movie! But it’s just part of the alchemy of editing. You sit there and you piece it together. Everything’s sort of long-winded at first, and then you squeeze and you squeeze, and it eventually starts to paint targets on areas of the movie where you really feel the breaks being hit.”

The Deleted Scenes Explained

The first scene centers on Hiccup (played by Mason Thames) sneaking Toothless, his sleek black dragon, back into his village. The tension rises as Astrid (Nico Parker), Hiccup’s crush and rival, nearly catches him in the act. This moment added a fun layer of tension and physical comedy as Hiccup tries to hide the dragon and cover up the noises it makes. DeBlois reflected, “Just having Astrid almost catch Hiccup red-handed with Toothless in a stall was another bit of fun tension between the two of them, and I thought they played it really well.”

The second deleted scene features Toothless defending his dinner from a group of tiny, fire-breathing Terrible Terrors — miniature dragons known for their colorful and mischievous nature. Toothless’s unique defense teaches Hiccup a vital lesson about dragon anatomy, as one Terror collapses after being hit by Toothless’s breath weapon. When Hiccup feeds a Terror himself, it curls up beside him like a cat, reinforcing the idea that everything his people believe about dragons might be wrong. DeBlois called this scene “charming” but admitted it felt redundant given earlier moments in the story where Hiccup realizes how much he still has to learn.

Why Cut Scenes Even When the Movie Is Longer?

Interestingly, even with these cuts, the live-action movie runs longer than the original animated film—125 minutes versus 98. DeBlois explains that the remake allows for more detailed, human moments and extended flying sequences that naturally lengthen the runtime. This pacing required trimming elsewhere to maintain a smooth flow.

He said, “Those were two spots where we thought ‘Narratively, we can get by without them.’ And just by simply snipping and removing them, everything breezed through so that the pace took on a natural flow. That it made it evident that they had to go.”

For fans curious to see these deleted moments and dive deeper into the making of the film, the upcoming physical releases will be a great way to explore the full story behind the scenes.

You can find the digital version of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0F7RBM86H

And the DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K release arriving August 12:
https://www.amazon.com/Train-Your-Dragon-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B0F9L26YJR