Cate Blanchett Cast as Valka in Live-Action Dragon Sequel

Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation have cast Cate Blanchett to reprise her role as the Viking warrior Valka in the live-action remake of "How to Train Your Dragon 2," set for theatrical release on June 11, 2027.

Blanchett, a two-time Academy Award winner, first voiced the character in the 2014 animated sequel and returned for the 2019 installment, "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World." In the story, Valka is revealed as the long-lost mother of the young Viking Hiccup and the wife of chieftain Stoick the Vast. Kidnapped by a dragon shortly after Hiccup's birth, she was presumed dead by her village on the island of Berk. Years later, she emerges as a skilled dragon protector, living in harmony with the creatures on a remote island and riding a massive Stormcutter dragon named Cloudjumper, the same one that took her away.

The remake follows the success of the 2025 live-action adaptation of the original "How to Train Your Dragon," which grossed more than $636 million worldwide and ranked among the year's top Hollywood releases. That film starred Mason Thames as Hiccup, the inventive son of Stoick who forges an unlikely friendship with a dragon named Toothless,...