Actors' strike: How to Train Your Dragon filming in Belfast delayed

The filming of the major Hollywood film How to Train Your Dragon in Northern Ireland is being delayed due to the Hollywood actors' strike.

BBC News NI understands that crew on the film were told of the delay on Tuesday.

It is a move that will have a "seismic" short-term impact on Northern Ireland's film industry, a union representative has said.

Angela Moffatt, from Bectu, said hundreds of workers could be affected.

"There are a good proportion of our members who are employed on or who were due to be employed on this production", she said.

"There is more widely businesses that provide support to productions as they come over here are going to be impacted too."

Streaming and AI concerns

The strike is affecting multiple films and TV series.

It is not clear for how long filming will be postponed but it is likely to depend on a resolution to the industrial action.

The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union speaks for more than 160,000 members, including actors, stunt coordinators, voiceover artists and background actors.

They are striking over concerns about income from streaming platforms, and artificial intelligence.

Strike action by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has already led to filming in Northern Ireland of the major TV series Blade Runner 2099 to be delayed until 2024.

• Why Hollywood actors have walked off set

Now the actors' strike means How to Train Your Dragon, which was due to start filming in Belfast's Titanic Studios shortly, will also be delayed.

The film is a live-action version of a series of animated movies that have previously been hits.

It is being directed by Dean DeBlois, who was involved in the animated films, and will star Mason Thames, best known for his role in The Black Phone, as well as Nico Parker, who previously appeared in the TV series The Last of Us.

Cast and crew for How To Train Your Dragon were due to start filming in Titanic Studios in Belfast soon

Based on the original books by the British author Cressida Cowell, the films tell the story of a young Viking called Hiccup and his dragon Toothless.

Made by Dreamworks and Universal Pictures, How to Train Your Dragon was originally expected to be on screens in March 2025.

It is not yet clear if the delay to production means that date will be pushed back.

Angela Moffatt, from the Bectu trade union which represents many in the Northern Ireland film industry, said hundreds of workers could be affected by the shutdown of filming.

'Incredibly bad'

Ms Moffatt said she hopes the strike action can be resolved soon and that other productions not involved in the dispute may still go ahead locally.

For the workers impacted, Ms Moffatt said some could be left in an "incredibly bad" situation with no notice being paid as they may not technically be terminated from the production.

She added that people are leaving the industry due to the overall industry uncertainty.

"It's incredibly sad because we lose talent," she said.

Northern Ireland Screen has provided just over £2m in production funding towards How to Train Your Dragon, according to its published Screen Fund Awards for 2022-23.

In a statement, Northern Ireland Screen chief executive Richard Williams said it was "saddened by the delay in the production of How to Train Your Dragon which, like production all over the world, cannot proceed until the SAG strike is resolved".

"We hope for a swift and equitable resolution to the dispute for all parties, allowing USA-originated projects to get back into production here," he added.