Dragon Trainer

Gerard Butler's mother Margaret fell ill during production in Belfast, so he would go back to Scotland most weekends to be with her. She passed away in February 2025 at age 81. Butler, who grew up without a father, shared how touched he was that director Dean DeBlois paid tribute to her at the end of the live-action remake of the animated franchise: "I was so excited for her to see it, but I had a feeling she wouldn't. So Dean very kindly dedicated the movie to her." DeBlois shared that he brought the idea to Universal Pictures so he could surprise Butler with the dedication. "I knew that the loss of his mother was a deeply felt wound and that he was having a tough time recovering from it," DeBlois said. "So to honor her with a dedication in the credits just seemed like the right thing to do in that moment." Butler, who had already voiced Stoick in the franchise's animated films, shared how his mother knew, "Since I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor. If Stoick had a mum, that would have been my mum. She was an amazing woman, but she was strong, she was fiery, and she was graceful, and she was beautiful. When I saw the movie, I noticed that I had put more of my mother than of myself into that role."

When the initial attack on the dragon nest begins, a small crew of Vikings are shown pulling down the ropes on a catapult in order to make the projectiles launch.

This method is physically and historically inaccurate, as catapults are designed to only work using a counterweight mechanism that gets released before launch. The energy required to make this work through human muscle alone would be impossible.

Before the credits roll, a dedication is given to Margaret, Gerard Butler's mother who fell ill during production and passed away before the film's release.

Featured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The Road to the Oscars 2023 (2023)