Dean DeBlois’ live-action remake of the beloved 2010s classic How to Train Your Dragon makes a number of important changes to the animated original, but one thing that remains consistent is the status of Hiccup’s mother, Valka. For the most part, the live-action version acts as a sH๏τ-for-sH๏τ remake, with many of the most famous images and scenes from the first movie recreated with live actors and actresses enhanced by some truly incredible CGI. The story of an intelligent but outcast young Viking breaching the divide between Vikings and dragons remains entirely intact, as does the main cast of characters.

The new movie adeptly balances the original movie’s framework with subtle additions or augmentations, and one of the most important changes is the addition of backstory for both Berk itself and specific characters. How to Train Your Dragon provides more context for how Berk came to be, and the foundations of the long-standing animosity between Vikings and the dragons that raid their village frequently. Within that history for both Hiccup and his father Stoick is the reason why Hiccup’s mother, named Valka, isn’t present for the movie’s action.

Hiccup’s Mother Died Before How To Train Your Dragon

She Was Supposedly A Victim Of The Dragon-Viking War

While both the animated and live-action versions of How to Train Your Dragon see the dragons targeting Berk’s livestock in the nighttime raid that opens the movie, it’s implied that their regular battles have been far ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier in the past. In a key line from both movies, Stoick notes that dragons have killed hundreds of Berkians, while Hiccup retorts that Vikings have killed thousands of dragons in return. One such casualty in that exchange of death was supposedly Hiccup’s mother, who died when Hiccup was just a child.

In the animated movie, it’s implied that Hiccup’s mother is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but it isn’t quite as direct about how she died. In the live-action version, her death at the hands of the dragons is actually a major motivator for Stoick’s hatred of dragons, and explains his explosive anger when he finds out Hiccup has allied with them. In either version, her death is treated as a certainty from the past, although as franchise fans know, it isn’t that simple.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 Reveals That Hiccup’s Mom, Valka, Is Alive

In The Animated Sequel, She Is Kidnapped, Not Killed

The original Academy Award-nominated animated movie spawned a pair of highly successful sequels, each of which expanded the series’ main cast and explored new reaches of the dragon-filled world with the Isle of Berk at its center. The live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon 2 already has a 2027 release date, and it feels safe to ᴀssume that it will follow the first movie’s lead as a sH๏τ-for-sH๏τ remake. That means that Hiccup’s mother Valka will be introduced to the live-action franchise and featured in a major role, as the animated sequel reveals she is still alive.

One of the major story arcs of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is Hiccup’s discovery of a secret dragon haven that exists under the protection of the mᴀssive and benevolent ice-spitting alpha dragon. Many sick and injured dragons live there after being rescued by a mysterious masked dragon rider, who turns out to be Hiccup’s mother, Valka. It’s revealed that Stoick saw her get carried off by a dragon when Hiccup was a baby, but given the dragons’ gentle nature, she was not killed; rather, she decided to live among them after discovering their intelligence and kindness.

How To Train Your Dragon’s Remake Subtly Sets Up Hiccup’s Mom’s Survival

She Is Referenced Multiple Times In The Movie

It’s not a coincidence that the new live-action How to Train Your Dragon invokes Hiccup’s mother so much more often than the original did. In the animated version, the only major story note related to her was Stoick’s gifting of the helmet made from her breastplate to Hiccup. In the new movie, she is an ever-present painful memory and motivation for Stoick, and it seems known and certain that she was killed in a dragon attack.

That makes the heavier inclusion of Hiccup’s mother in the movie’s background and world-building seem more like a tease or a setup than anything else. She is all but certainly going to be a major factor in the sequel (ᴀssuming it acts as a sH๏τ-for-sH๏τ remake), and while there hasn’t been any casting news, it seems clear that they’ll get a bigger name for the role. It’s possible that Dean DeBlois and his team could cast Cate Blanchett, who voiced Valka in the animated movies, just as Gerard Butler played his character’s live-action counterpart in How to Train Your Dragon.