“Something Has To Change for It To Connect”: ‘Wicked’ Oscar Nominee Teases ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ Live Action [Exclusive]

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John Powell is a very busy man, and as usual, his work is hitting those high notes. Hot off his second Oscar nomination for Wicked yesterday, for Best Original Score, Powell has already moved on to revisiting a story that helped define his career in the shape of How to Train Your Dragon. Yesterday, when speaking to Collider’s Meredith Loftus, in the wake of the exciting news, Powell opened up on his thoughts about the unique challenges of adapting the beloved animated classic into a live-action film, while trying to retain that same magic.

“It’s very weird because I’m working on the new version of How to Train Your Dragon right now, which is the last nomination. So, it’s all very circular, apparently. But it’s great. It’s very weird,” he revealed. For Powell, returning to Berk means going full circle. The original How to Train Your Dragon score, which is considered one of the most iconic soundtracks in animation history — who among us hasn't rocked out to "Test Flight"? — earned him an Oscar nomination in 2010. Now, as he reunites with director Dean DeBlois for the live-action adaptation, Powell is diving back into the world of Berk, dragons, and Vikings — but this time, it’s a whole new ball game.

“Well, between the first Dragons and then this Dragons, there’s been a lot of other scores, including a few other Dragons films, but I’ve never done a sequel so quickly as Wicked and then Wicked: For Good. There’s only one thing in between that, and that’s Dragons, but it’s wonderful to revisit it,” Powell said, before adding that he was looking forward to people seeing an "expanded version" of the original story.

“It’s the same director, Dean [DeBlois], who I adore and is quite a brilliant storyteller. I’m hoping that all those people who never saw the animated film will come across this story and enjoy it as much as everybody who has seen the animated film, and everyone who likes the animated film who has seen it will appreciate this expanded version of the same story.”

John Powell Is Learning the Difference Between Scoring Animation and Live-Action

But crafting the score for a live-action How to Train Your Dragon isn’t as simple as reusing the beloved themes from the animated trilogy. The shift from animation to live action has required Powell to approach the music in a fresh and dynamic way, while keeping the same familiarity. It isn't an easy thing to do, as he explained.

“A lot of the music is the same, but it has to work in a slightly different way sometimes — some very different ways, sometimes,” Powell said. “Live-action is a play. Over the years, people always ask, ‘What’s the difference between doing animation and live-action?’ I never really quite knew, but I really am having to figure that out right now because the same stuff can work exactly the same in a very similar scene, but something has to change for it to connect in a slightly different way because it’s live-action. There’s all these really subtle things that I’m having to do, and some not subtle things. So, it’s good to revisit.”

How To Train Your Dragon will fly into theaters on June 13, 2025. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.