A special effects technician working on Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2 suffered a severe and permanent injury earlier this month at Sky Studios Elstree in the UK, losing multiple fingers on one hand in a workshop accident involving a saw. Extensive surgery failed to reattach the severed digits. Universal has declined to comment.
Principal photography on the film began at Sky Studios Elstree in February, and the incident is reported to have occurred in early April in a workshop on the studio’s premises — distinct from the main filming areas. It remains unclear whether the accident has disrupted production. The film retains its scheduled release date of June 11, 2027.
Director Dean DeBlois, who helmed all three original DreamWorks animated How to Train Your Dragon films, returns to write, direct, and executive produce the sequel. The cast includes Cate Blanchett reprising her animated role as Valka, Severance star Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as villain Drago Bludvist, and Phil Dunster as dragon trapper Eret. Stars Mason Thames, Nico Parker, and Gerard Butler are all confirmed to return.
The live-action original performed strongly when it opened, earning over $636 million globally — a result that led Universal to fast-track the sequel. The four-film animated franchise collectively grossed over $2.2 billion.
The accident has renewed attention on long-standing safety concerns within UK film and television production. Last year, UK crew union Bectu and producer union Pact issued a joint statement linking safety risks to workers being asked to exceed contractually agreed rest periods — a practice known as “broken turnaround.” Bectu National Secretary Spencer Macdonald stated: “Breaking turnaround impacts workers’ ability to do their job safely and effectively. Reports to Bectu indicate that exhaustion, accidents and near-misses are all too common, as well as poor mental health for many film and TV workers.”
The incident follows a fatal accident on the set of Marvel’s Wonder Man in 2024, when a rigger was killed during production. The specific circumstances behind the How to Train Your Dragon 2 workshop accident have not been disclosed, and no regulatory investigation has been publicly confirmed.
