Dean DeBlois, award-winning movie director and all-round daddy-bear icon, has thanked audiences for their support of his most recent movie: The live-action remake of
How To Train Your Dragon
.
DeBlois, 55, co-wrote the screenplay and co-directed the original animated version in 2010 alongside his creative work partner Chris Sanders. The two also helmed the sequels in 2014 and 2019, and the original
Lilo & Stitch
back in 2002.
The live-action remake of
How To Train Your Dragon
has been number one at the box office in the two weeks since it was released. It comfortably held off competition this past weekend from
28 Years Later
and the new Pixar movie,
Elio
.
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At the time of writing, the movie has taken $160 million at the US box office and $200 million internationally. It’s sure to boost that further over the coming weeks. A live-action sequel of
How To Train Your Dragon 2
is already in the works. It will hit screens in the summer of 2027.
Following his success in animation, this new film is DeBlois’ live-action movie debut (not counting a couple of music documentaries).
On Instagram yesterday, DeBlois posted a photo of himself on the set. He said, “Thanks to everyone at Universal Studios for supporting our movie in such a phenomenal way! And thanks to our audiences around the world for showing up! From the cast and crew, we appreciate you! ”
Background
DeBlois, 55, was born and raised in Quebec, Canada. After college, he worked in Dublin, Ireland with the influential animator Don Bluth. He then joined Disney as a storyboard artist in 1994. Moving to Los Angeles also encouraged him to come out.
“When I arrived, I’d take a stroll down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood and just see everybody was out in the open and holding hands and everything was OK,” he told
The Advocate
in 2011. “So I really felt like,
This is not a judgemental environment. It’s so common that nobody raises an eyebrow
. I just didn’t worry about it.”
DeBlois has been with his partner, JD, for 17 years. They married in 2014. They often post photos together to their respective social media accounts.
Congratulations on the movie’s success, Dean!
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