We’ve been seeing our fair share of dragons in the entertainment industry, and it’s safe to say they look different across the board. In the last couple of years alone, we’ve been graced with a bold Khaleesi mothering a batch of them, Bilbo and a band of dwarves trying to steal from one, and even Maleficent transforming into one to devour her enemies. There is, however, a certain dragon in particular who stands out from the crowd and is equal parts fast and (Night) furious thanks to his retractable teeth. Just in case you didn’t catch that reference, I’m speaking of Toothless from DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon and the upcoming Netflix original Dragons: Race to the Edge—the latter of which we’re here to talk about.
With Race to the Edge set to premiere on Netflix Friday, June 26, we’ve gotten our hands on an exclusive sneak preview at what Hiccup and Toothless are up to during the five-year gap between the first and second How to Train Your Dragon films. As you can see in the video at the top of the page, it looks like the adventurous duo is going to be chasing down a new dragon rider. But, who could it be?
Unless you’ve watched Dragons: Riders of Berk or School of Dragons–which are previous seasons of the Dragons series based on the films—you might not recognize Heather. We already knew she was coming back, this time accompanied by her dragon Windshear, but it’s certainly fun seeing the look on Hiccup’s face when he realizes who he was chasing.
Alongside the clip, we’re also here to share a link to an interactive map that’ll help explain some of  the places and beasts the Dragon Riders are going to encounter throughout the season thanks to the mysterious artifact Hiccup and Toothless discovered.
The map utilizes Google Maps API integration to position the dragon-filled Archipelago into the  Norwegian and Greenland Sea. When in map mode, there are several spots that appear on the screen including: the “warm and alluring” Melody Island, the “remote, frigid wasteland” Valka’s Mountain, the “desolate and frostbitten” Glacier Island and more.
In addition to back story on the new worlds, each spot on the map also provides you with the distance it takes via dragon (duh) to get to the location from the Riders’ new home base/clubhouse Dragon’s Edge–which is but a 34 hour flight from Berk in case you’re wondering.
You can also toggle to “Dragon View”–which mimics the concept behind the Dragon Eye and is a play on Google’s Street View–to learn more about the dragons we’ll be seeing in the show. Among the ferocious beasts listed are the Death Song, Snow Wraith, Night Terror, Fireworm, Razorwhip, and my personal favorite: the Catastrophic Quaken.
As you probably already noticed, there are several spots on the map that remain a mystery, but don’t worry! It sounds like the map is going to be kept up to date as an on-going source of expert knowledge about the area and its winged inhabitants.
Are you thinking of checking out the show? What would your dream dragon look like? Let us know in the comments below, or start a conversation with me on Twitter: @sam3214.
