Washington, DC [US], June 10 : Nico Parker, known for her role in The Last of Us, spoke about the social media reaction to her casting as Astrid in the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In an interview, she was asked about the online criticism that the actress doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes, as Astrid was initially depicted in the animated films that launched with 2010's original How to Train Your Dragon.
"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," said Parker, adding, "But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change when it comes to that side of things, I just don't care."
She continued, "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."
Parker, whose parents are actress Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker, went on to say that she believes Hollywood is making headway in onscreen representation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"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," the actress said, adding, "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."
The film, directed by Dean DeBlois, will hit theatres on June 13. It is a remake of DreamWorks' 2010 animated classic. The movie stars Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid, alongside Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, and Julian Dennison. DeBlois, who co-directed the original film, is back to write and direct this new version.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dean DeBlois, at a special event where the trailer was launched, shared his excitement about reimagining the story and explained that due to time and budget constraints, some elements of the original movie weren't explored as deeply as he would have liked.
"With the rushed production schedule and the limited resources that we had on that first movie for DreamWorks, there were things that we skipped past that we could have maybe done a little more justice to some of the characters, some of the depth of relationships and the immersive action," he was quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
"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 added.
One major change is a greater focus on Astrid. DeBlois felt that her character "was a little underserved" in the original film. In the new version, Astrid, played by Nico Parker, comes from a proud line of Viking warriors and dreams of leading her people.
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