Washington, DC [US], June 10: Nico Parker, known for her role in The Last of Us, addressed the social media backlash following her casting as Astrid in the upcoming live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Parker spoke candidly about the criticism regarding her appearance, noting that she does not have blonde hair and blue eyes like the animated Astrid from the 2010 original. “There are some people that really love the animated movies and really want to see an exact play-by-play of that film, and I hope that you can watch the new version and find something that you love about it, regardless,” she said. “But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change — when it comes to that side of things, I just don’t care.”
She added, “If I wouldn’t value your opinion on most things in life, I can’t value your opinion on my hair. If I did, I would go mad.”
Daughter of actress Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker, Nico also shared her positive outlook on Hollywood’s progress toward better representation. “When I was younger, the amount of mixed race or Black icons, people that I would look to on-screen to be like, ‘Oh, this feels like me,’ felt really minimal in comparison to what it could be for young people now, and I think that’s really special,” she said. “There’s still a long way to go — for women in general, in terms of new parts, original material and female-led stories. But I think that everything’s changing. I’d like to think that I could contribute to that change at some point.”
Directed by Dean DeBlois, the film will hit theaters on June 13. The remake stars Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid, alongside Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, and Julian Dennison. DeBlois, who co-directed the original animated film, returns as writer and director.
At the trailer launch event, DeBlois expressed excitement about reimagining the story. He explained that the rushed production and limited resources on the original meant some characters and relationships weren’t explored as deeply as he wished. “It’s a reimagining that holds quite faithful to the story and yet finds moments where we could enrich character relationships, give a bit of depth, give a little bit of mythology that might have been lacking in that original,” he said.
One notable change is a stronger focus on Astrid, who DeBlois felt was “a little underserved” in the original. In this new version, Astrid, portrayed by Parker, hails from a proud lineage of Viking warriors and dreams of leading her people.