Cameras roll again on live action remake of fantasy film How To Train Your Dragon in Belfast?????????????????????

Last year, the Belfast Telegraph exclusively revealed that the action flick would be filmed in Belfast, and in a post on Instagram on Monday evening, the director of the film, Dean DeBlois, uploaded a photograph of himself holding a clapperboard, captioning it: “First day of school, we’re all excited to get underway.”

He also tagged star Mason Thames, who will lead the film as Hiccup, and listed the location as ‘Isle of Berk’ — the fictional Scandinavian island setting of the animated films — which Northern Ireland will now double as.

It’s not yet known if the film will follow a similar plot to the original animated film which follows young Viking Hiccup as he is thrust into the family tradition of fighting dragons.

When faced with the prospect of battling dragons, he ends up befriending injured fire-breather Toothless who teaches him that everything he has been told about the mythical creatures may not be true.

The start of filming comes after a lengthy delay in the movie’s production.

Northern Ireland Screen said the film would halt filming in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike which prevented union members of the American acting union from working.

The strike, which was over payment issues and the use of artificial intelligence, was resolved in November after nearly four months.

Pre-production at Titanic Studios — where another dragon-themed epic Game of Thrones was filmed — was shut down, despite sets having been built.

DeBlois is returning to the world of dragons after directing the animated feature film and its sequels which are based on the novels by English author Cressida Cowell.

Earlier this week, he confirmed two high profile movie stars would make Belfast their home as part of the cast — Gerard Butler and Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost.

Butler was recently photographed at Belfast’s Merchant Hotel.

The Scottish actor, who is known for movies PS I Love You and Greenland will reprise the role of Hiccup’s father, Stoick, while Frost is playing a currently unnamed Viking, joining Thames and Nico Parker, who will play warrior Astrid.

The original 2010 animated film spawned two sequels, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, both of which were also directed by DeBlois.

Actress and Ugly Betty star America Ferrera commented: “Yessssss!!” under DeBlois’ post.

Ferrera previously voiced Astrid in the animated films.

How to Train Your Dragon marks one of the first major productions in Northern Ireland of 2024.

It comes days after Kevin Hart’s action thriller Lift, which was filmed predominantly in Belfast, was made available on Netflix.

Other recent productions here include the second series of BBC dramas Showtrial and Blue Lights, while recent films include The Last Rifleman starring Pierce Brosnan and Four Letters of Love, which also stars Brosnan alongside Helena Bonham Carter.

Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil was also filmed in Northern Ireland in 2021.

However, Northern Ireland Screen suffered a disappointment when it was confirmed last autumn Sir Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated Blade Runner 2099 TV series would no longer be filmed in Belfast due to production changes.

​How to Train Your Dragon is scheduled to hit cinemas in June 2025.