How to Train Your Dragon director responds to Astrid casting backlash: 'I think that’s fading away'

The How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake hit the big screen recently and has been receiving widespread praise from critics and audiences. However, when the trailer for the movie dropped, the casting of actress Nico Parker as Astrid faced criticism on social media.

Speaking to Variety, director Dean DeBlois shared his thoughts on the subject, saying that he felt bad that Nico Parker had to face that, but feels that now people have seen how good she is in the role, they are changing their minds.

"I mean, it bothered me in the beginning, and now I think that’s fading away, as I expected it would," he said. "Once people start seeing Nico Parker in the role, it just becomes obvious she is excellent as Astrid. She was cast because she was the best that came in, and within the context of this movie, and sort of the expanded mythology of the tribe, the whole idea that Astrid has to be white and blue-eyed and blonde goes away," he continued.

"It’s unfortunate that she had to hear any of that. But I guess people only know what they know until we start sort of informing them about the changes and how this movie makes sense of all of it," he continued.

A faithful retelling of the original

The film closely follows the story of the first animated movie, which centres on a young Viking named Hiccup. He belongs to a tribe of fierce dragon hunters but defies tradition by befriending a dragon, challenging everything his people believe.

A strong cast leads the remake

The animated How to Train Your Dragon trilogy was a massive success, grossing over $1.6 billion worldwide and spawning a wide array of spin-offs, including comics, video games, TV series, and stage adaptations.

The film features Mason Thames as Hiccup, Nico Parker as Astrid, Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, Nick Frost as Gobber, Julian Dennison as Fishlegs Ingerman, and Gabriel Howell as Snotlout Jorgenson.