Dean DeBlois details key changes in ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ live action

Dean DeBlois defended the live action version of his hit film How to Train Your Dragon and outlined half an hour of new content in the remake.

The action/adventure film is set to be a critical and financial success, however, with an already existing animated adaptation the new version is bound to have some changes.

DeBlois in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, revealed that the reboot includes about 27 minutes of additional footage, allowing viewers to further explore the character’s relationships.

"Well, a lot of individual scenes just grew because we allowed for the relationships to run a little deeper," DeBlois said.

While breaking down some scenes he added, "An example might be the scene in which Hiccup is supposed to kill a Monstrous Nightmare in front of the whole village, so there's time spent with Astrid and Hiccup in the tunnel."

The 55-year-old filmmaker also revealed additional scenes that explored the relationship between film's hero Hiccup and his father Stoic the Vast and "an intense scene that unfolds in the arena as Toothless [the dragon] bursts in and tries to protect Hiccup."

DeBlois further shared that he made the scene where Stoic and his crew gets attacked by dragons a bit more intense than the original in order to "remind the audience that there is cause to be intimidated and fearful of dragons."

He went on to share his delight over the Universal studio approaching for the remake unlike Disney who usually don't go to original filmmaker.

"So that was flattering and an honour," he continued, "To be frank, I selfishly didn't want to see somebody else's version of it."

DeBlois said that he assured the studio about knowing the characters and the dragon world more intimately than anyone else, hence he should be the one to helm it.

The How to Train Your Dragon is set to premiere on June 13.