The new, modern How To Train Your Dragon had to find out about cell phones

In the new How To Train Your Dragon show, the human characters are not seasoned Viking warriors, but modern teenagers. And yes, that means they use cell phones and computers and have access to the Internet. Showrunner John Tellegen says one of the biggest challenges in the modern environment has been balancing the wonders of technology with the majesty of dragons turned out to be a bit of a challenge.

“As much as modern children are on their devices, we didn’t want to lose what makes dragons feel so grounded by putting too much technology into them,” he tells Polygon. “My instinct has always been to turn away from technology.”

Dragons: The Nine Realms takes place 1300 years after the end of the original series. (“Even if the show takes place 1,300 years in the future,” Tellegen adds, “that doesn’t mean we won’t find any surprises from the past.”) After a crack opens in the earth’s crust, restless teenage boy Tom and his mother travel to the Fault Research Center. Curious about all the possible discoveries, Tom accidentally stumbles upon the Hidden World, the underground cave into which the dragons retreated after the end of the film trilogy. He befriends a curious black and white dragon and finally introduces them to his new friends. The modern environment not only allows the characters to use drones, cell phones, and computers; It also introduces new topics – ones that may be more relatable.

“One of the advantages of the modern age is that we can play with current issues like climate change and animal rights. Things that are important to our modern audience that the Vikings may not have been so important, ”says Tellegen. “But our modern children do.”

Unlike the characters in the original film and series, the modern kids are in Dragons: The Nine Realms

are a more diverse group. It’s definitely more of an ensemble show than anything in the originals, which ultimately focused on hiccup and toothless. But now there’s another kid and another dragon – with other cool powers – that go with it. For example, the shy computer hacker Alex is paired with a dragon who can become invisible, while the fearless Tom bonds with the descendant of Toothless, who can shoot lightning.

As Tellegen says, while the dragons and children evolve together, the focus has always been on creating a wide and diverse list of human characters, each with a very specific thing in common.

“They were all children who didn’t necessarily have a home. D’Angelo is an army brat who traveled around with his family and Tom and his mother traveled the world, ”explains Tellegen. “The idea of bringing all these characters from different walks of life together and letting them find a family and a home in this place was a big part of the development of human characters.”

Dragons: The Nine Realms continues streaming peacock and Hulu now.