Cate Blanchett is following in Gerard Butler’s footsteps and reprising her role as Viking warrior Valka, moving from a voice role into live-action portrayal.

The two-time Oscar winner will star in Universal Pictures’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2. Dean DeBlois, who co-created the franchise and both wrote and directed last year’s first live-action adaptation, is back as writer, director, and executive producer of the sequel.

Cate Blanchett joins Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Butler, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James and Harry Trevaldwyn in the sequel. 

Adapting the second animated installment, which was released in 2014, the film continues the adventures of Hiccup (Thames), the dragon-befriending Viking who opened up his village to the possibilities of coexisting with the flying, fire-breathing creatures. Valka Haddock is Hiccup’s long-lost mother and the wife of leader Stoick the Vast (Butler). She’d been presumed dead after she was abducted during a dragon attack, but was actually living among them for two decades, learning their ways and becoming a fierce advocate of peace between their races. In the second film, she reunites with Hiccup and teaches him more about dragons.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 will be released in cinemas on June 11th, 2027.