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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFor a first-time viewer, watch How to Train Your Dragon, Dragons: Riders of Berk, Dragons: Defenders of Berk, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dragons: Race to the Edge, The Hidden World, and finally Homecoming.
For strict chronological order, move Race to the Edge ahead of How to Train Your Dragon 2. Add The Nine Realms only if you want the far-future continuation set 1,300 years later. Rescue Riders is an optional spinoff, while the 2025 film is a separate live-action reimagining rather than the next animated sequel.
The recommended first-time order
For most viewers, the smoothest way to watch the main animated continuity is the franchise’s release-oriented order:
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
- Dragons: Riders of Berk
- Dragons: Defenders of Berk
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
- Dragons: Race to the Edge
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
- How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming
- Dragons: The Nine Realms — optional far-future continuation
The only important change for strict story chronology is to move Race to the Edge ahead of How to Train Your Dragon 2. Race to the Edge takes place during the earlier Berk period and fills in the years between the first and second films, even though it was released after the second film.
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Every main-continuity entry in order
| Order | Title | Format | Why it belongs here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How to Train Your Dragon | Film, 2010 | Introduces Hiccup, Toothless, Berk, and the central human-dragon relationship. |
| 2 | Dragons: Riders of Berk | TV series | Continues the story after Hiccup and the Vikings begin living and training alongside dragons. |
| 3 | Dragons: Defenders of Berk | TV series | Continues the Berk-era adventures as the community faces new threats. |
| 4 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Film, 2014 | Moves Hiccup and Toothless into the next major chapter of the trilogy. |
| 5 | Dragons: Race to the Edge | TV series, six seasons | Expands the earlier Hiccup-and-Toothless period and serves as the major bridge to the second film. |
| 6 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | Film, 2019 | Concludes the main animated film trilogy. |
| 7 | How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming | Holiday special | Acts as a post-trilogy coda and should be saved until after The Hidden World. |
| 8 | Dragons: The Nine Realms | Optional TV series | Jumps 1,300 years into the future, making it a successor setting rather than a direct next episode. |
Chronological story order
If you want the events arranged as closely as possible by story chronology, use this sequence:
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Dragons: Riders of Berk
- Dragons: Defenders of Berk
- Dragons: Race to the Edge
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming
- Dragons: The Nine Realms, if you want the far-future continuation
The key chronological adjustment is simple: watch all three Berk-era television blocks before How to Train Your Dragon 2, with Race to the Edge following Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berk.
Why does Race to the Edge come before the second film chronologically?
Race to the Edge follows Hiccup, Toothless, and the Viking teenagers while Berk is still developing its dragon-training society. Its stories explore new dragons, enemies, and challenges from that earlier stage of the characters’ lives. DreamWorks describes the show as a six-season series centered on Hiccup and Toothless, which makes it the principal television bridge between the first two films.
For a first viewing, however, leaving it after How to Train Your Dragon 2 follows the order in which audiences encountered the major releases. It also gives newcomers the films’ larger story beats before asking them to commit to the longer television continuation. Neither placement makes the series incomprehensible; choose release-oriented order for a smoother introduction or chronological order for timeline consistency.
Release order for the animated franchise
The three main animated films were released in this order:
- How to Train Your Dragon — 2010
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 — 2014
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World — 2019
The television material was released around and between those films. At the useful franchise level, release order is therefore:
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Dragons: Riders of Berk
- Dragons: Defenders of Berk
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- Dragons: Race to the Edge
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming
- Dragons: The Nine Realms, as an optional later successor
This is why the recommended first-time list puts Race to the Edge after the second film. It is a prequel-like bridge in story terms, but it arrived after the film and is designed to fit the larger franchise as television material released between the films.
If you want stable access instead of chasing changing streaming catalogs, compare a How to Train Your Dragon Blu-ray or trilogy set. Check the exact listing before buying: a single-film release, animated-trilogy collection, DVD, digital copy, and any 4K edition are different products, and region compatibility and included films matter. Do not assume a set includes the 2025 live-action film unless its listing explicitly says so.
What to watch if you only want the films
The core film-only order is:
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
- How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming
The three films tell the central feature-film story without requiring the television series. Homecoming is optional but worthwhile if you want a final coda after the trilogy rather than stopping with The Hidden World.
Where does Homecoming fit?
How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming is a holiday special set after the events of the trilogy. DreamWorks describes it as taking place ten years after the end of The Hidden World and just before that film’s emotional epilogue. That makes it a coda to the animated trilogy, not a prequel to How to Train Your Dragon 2 or The Hidden World.
Watch it after the third film even if you are following a television-heavy order. Putting it earlier can undercut the separation and reunion-related context that gives the special its emotional purpose.
Optional spinoffs and alternate branches
Dragons: Rescue Riders
Rescue Riders is not required for Hiccup’s watch order. DreamWorks describes it as following twins Dak and Leyla and five young dragons in another part of the Viking-and-dragon world. It is best treated as a separate, younger-skewing spinoff rather than as the next chapter of Hiccup’s story.
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Dragons: The Nine Realms
The Nine Realms belongs after the original animated continuity, but not immediately after any one film in the sense of a direct sequel. DreamWorks places it 1,300 years after the events of How to Train Your Dragon. It is therefore a far-future continuation of the setting, with a new generation and a different status quo.
For a complete franchise binge, watch it after Homecoming. For the Hiccup story, it is entirely optional.
The books are a separate path
The How to Train Your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell are source material and an optional way to explore a different version of the world. They are not additional episodes in the DreamWorks screen continuity, so reading them is not necessary before watching any film or series.
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Where to watch the series
Streaming availability changes by country, subscription service, and date. Official franchise listings have identified Netflix for Race to the Edge, Hulu and Peacock for The Nine Realms, and Netflix for Rescue Riders, but those destinations should not be treated as permanent or universal.
Check the current listing in your country immediately before starting a season. For viewers who want to avoid a series disappearing from a catalog halfway through a watch-through, physical Blu-ray or DVD releases can be the more predictable option. Verify the specific edition, region, and included seasons before purchasing; availability and packaging can change.
Do the short films need a specific place?
No definitive episode-by-episode short-film order is established by the official pages reviewed for this guide. Rather than presenting an invented “perfect” sequence, treat the shorts as optional extras.
The safest approach is to finish the main film and television continuity first, then watch any shorts included with your edition or listed with the relevant film. If a particular short is clearly labeled as a prequel, sequel, or bonus feature by its official release, use that description—but do not assume that every short can be placed precisely between individual episodes.
Where the 2025 live-action film fits
How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is not the next animated sequel. Universal describes it as a live-action reimagining of the original How to Train Your Dragon story. It belongs in a separate adaptation branch rather than between the 2010 animated film and How to Train Your Dragon 2.
You can watch the live-action film after the animated order as a comparison, or watch it independently if you only want the reimagined version. It does not replace the 2010 film in the animated continuity.
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Universal currently lists the live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2 for June 11, 2027. That is a future release listing, not an available entry in the watch order, and theatrical schedules can change. Recheck the date before publication or planning a future marathon.
Which order should you choose?
| Your goal | Best order |
|---|---|
| First viewing | Release-oriented order: first film, Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, second film, Race to the Edge, third film, Homecoming. |
| Strict story chronology | Move Race to the Edge before How to Train Your Dragon 2. |
| Only the main movies | Watch the three animated films in 2010–2014–2019 order, then optionally watch Homecoming. |
| Everything connected to the setting | Finish the Hiccup-era continuity, then add The Nine Realms as the 1,300-years-later branch. |
| All dragon-related DreamWorks series | Add Rescue Riders separately; it is not a required Hiccup-era entry. |
| Compare adaptations | Complete the animated trilogy first, then watch the 2025 live-action reimagining as a separate version. |
Bottom line
Start with the 2010 animated film. For a first viewing, follow it with Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Race to the Edge, The Hidden World, and Homecoming. If chronology matters more than release experience, place Race to the Edge before the second film. Treat Rescue Riders, The Nine Realms, and the 2025 live-action movie as optional branches rather than mandatory parts of the animated Hiccup timeline.
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Should I watch Race to the Edge before or after How to Train Your Dragon 2?
For a first viewing, watch Race to the Edge after How to Train Your Dragon 2, following its release-oriented placement. For strict story chronology, watch it before the second film because its stories take place during the earlier Berk period.
Is Dragons: Rescue Riders part of the main How to Train Your Dragon timeline?
No. Rescue Riders follows Dak, Leyla, and five young dragons in another part of the Viking-and-dragon world. It is an optional spinoff and is not needed to understand Hiccup’s story.
When should I watch How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming?
Watch Homecoming after The Hidden World. It is a post-trilogy holiday special and functions as a coda to the animated films.
Where do the How to Train Your Dragon short films fit?
There is no need to insert the shorts into a precise episode-by-episode order based on the available official documentation. Treat them as optional extras and watch them after the relevant film or series block.
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Is the 2025 How to Train Your Dragon movie part of the animated continuity?
No. The 2025 movie is a live-action reimagining of the original story, not an animated sequel. Watch it separately, preferably after the animated trilogy if you want to compare the two adaptations.
The Bottom Line
Best first-time order: How to Train Your Dragon, Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Race to the Edge, The Hidden World, and Homecoming. For strict chronology, move Race to the Edge before the second film. Rescue Riders, The Nine Realms, and the 2025 live-action film are separate optional branches.
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