How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Evolution of the Dragon Riders

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World manages to close the door on the franchise in a meaningful way, helping the entire cast of characters grow from the future of Berk into the leaders of the village. While the film (and the series as a whole) has largely followed Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his growth from a timid outcast to confident chief of his people, the other members of his dragon riders have also steadily changed over the course of the films.

With the release of The Hidden World, we take a look back at all the main dragon riders and the people they've grown into along the way.

Hiccup

As the main character of the franchise, it makes sense that Hiccup goes through the most radical change of any single character in the series. The first film portrayed Hiccup as the underwhelming son of Stoick (Gerard Butler). Hiccup slowly became more confident over the course of the film, learning his place in Berk's hierarchy. He even manages to sway the rest of Berk to become dragon trainers and riders in their own right.

Despite his newfound popularity, he's reluctant to assume the role of chief, a title he inherited after the loss of his father in How to Train Your Dragon 2. The Hidden World showcases his reluctance to take on such a massive responsibility.

The main arc of the film follows Hiccup as he finally comes into his own as chief of Berk, even as he sees Toothless fly away to the Hidden World. His development into a leader is the best character evolution in the franchise, but he isn't the only one. Not by a long shot.

Astrid

Astrid began the series as the toughest and most renowned of the young vikings. She was the most skilled of the warriors, and harbored a particular dislike for Hiccup. That enmity only intensified as Hiccup's popularity in Berk skyrocketed, stealing attention away from her.

When he revealed his newfound knowledge and skills stemmed from his choice to train a Night Fury, though, she began to respect him. By the end of the film, she had helped motivate Hiccup to save Toothless and the assembled vikings, and earned her own dragon in the form of Stormfly.

After spending most of the second film as an advisor to (and girlfriend of) Hiccup, her importance is solidified in The Hidden World. The entire village considers her to be the brains in the relationship, with people like Gobber (Craig Ferguson) actively hoping the pair end up getting married so that Astrid can have a bigger role in leading the village.

With some light prodding from Hiccup's mother, Astrid becomes the rock that Hiccup needs when he lets go of Toothless. The series ends years later with the pair as the chieftains of the tribe, married and with children of their own.

NEXT PAGE: Snotlout is Still Kind of a Snot, Though

Snotlout

Snotlout (Jonah Hill) was the most obvious rival to Hiccup in the first film. He was the most aggressive in bullying Hiccup and... just generally the most aggressive. He wouldn't stop hitting on Astrid, kept making remarks about himself when Gobber told the story about losing his leg and generally just kept trying to be the center of attention. His showboating almost got him killed during the battle against the monstrous Red Death, but it looked like he had the potential to become a valuable ally.

In The Hidden World, all that potential has fallen by the wayside. Snoutlout still talks a big game, but barely contributes to the many battles against the dragon raiders; he keeps getting caught on objects or saved by his dragon.

He also spends most of the film pining after Valka (Cate Blanchett) after spending most of the second film in the trilogy trying to hit on Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig). He also repeatedly asserts his role as the second in line for the chieftain role, although he backs off once Hiccup and Astrid are married.

Fishlegs

Fishlegs began the trilogy as just another one of the young vikings in Berk. While he wasn't as overtly mean to Hiccup as the others, he wasn't exactly friends with him either. He was even more skittish around dragons than Hiccup, but had a deep understanding of the creatures thanks to his almost encyclopedic knowledge of them, gleaned after years of intensive reading.

Like Snotlout, he spent a good portion of How to Train Your Dragon 2 trying to impress Ruffnut. By the third entry in the film franchise, he's actually grown up a lot from the geek he was in the first film. He spends most of the film watching over a baby dragon while rushing headlong into battle alongside the other dragon riders.

In the end, Fishlegs proves more helpful than Snotlout. He even turns out to have grown a full mustache, unlike the starter 'stache that Snotlout wears, or the fake beard Tuffnut keeps talking about. He even ends up with Ruffnut in the end, who decides she likes sensitive guys.

Ruffnut & Tuffnut

Ruffnut and her brother, Tuffnut, have stayed true to form throughout all three films, consistently annoying everyone around them. They are quick with insults toward everyone, with the consistently belittled Hiccup as the main target of their mockery. But as soon as Hiccup started to impress people in the dragon pit, they were quick to befriend him. They also adjusted immediately to their two-headed dragon and quickly proved to be a useful members of the group.

Both of them got little character development over the course of the next two films, instead ending up the focus of some running jokes. In the second film, Ruffnut's arc revolved around a one-sided crush on Eren (Kit Harington) while Fishlegs and Snotlout compete over her. In The Hidden World, Tuffnut ties his long hair underneath his chin to make a beard, and constantly tries to give Hiccup romantic advice.

Overall, both characters have softened with age, even if they still primarily exist to talk a mile a minute. Ruffnut even ends up with Fishlegs at the wedding of Hiccup and Astrid, revealing that she's decided she likes sensitive guys.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will hit theaters Feb. 22. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois, the film stars Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Kit Harington, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Justin Rupple, Kristen Wiig and F. Murray Abraham.