There are few things more delightful than seeing a group of creators excited about what they’ve made, and it’s all the better when it’s a product worth getting excited about. That was the case at the New York Comic Con panel showcasing How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third and final film in the HTTYD series. (At least, we think it’ll be the final film. There was no tease of further installments, but there are always the TV and comic spinoffs.) Director Dean DeBlois, producer Brad Lewis, Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), and surprise guest F. Murray Abraham, who plays the antagonist, participated in a lively discussion of what we can expect to see in Berk and beyond when The Hidden World premieres next year. Plus, we got a new trailer tease, and it’s suitably epic.

What caused the most fanfare at the panel was the introduction of a character DeBlois described as a love interest for Toothless, a pure white beauty named Light Fury. (At least, that’s what Astrid dubs her in the trailer, and how the panel referred to her). “She has a rather unique ability,” said DeBlois. “She can blast a fireball ahead of herself and fly through it, and in doing so, she heats up her skin and her scales and they turn mirror-like.” That’s right: Light Fury has what’s basically a built-in invisibility cloak. And if you’re wondering how cool that is, having seen the clip, I can assure you it’s very cool indeed. Light Fury and Toothless develop a connection that leads to Toothless’ journey with her to the titular hidden world. But it’s not the smoothest courtship in the world. “[Toothless] finds himself relying on Hiccup to advise him, which is a terrible idea,” said DeBlois. So if you were concerned that the more action-packed turn this entry in the series takes (and more on that in a minute), rest assured that there’s at least one hilarious scene in The Hidden World.

Naturally, because villainy is an essential part of a hero’s quest (and Hiccup’s is to bring all the world’s dragons back to Berk — which, sure, aim high, dude), we also have a new character who’s a bit on the evil side: Grimmel, who aims to take Toothless from Hiccup. Given the clip of their first confrontation, in which Abraham chews the scenery as no one else can (quite a task when you’re going on voice alone), I fully believed Abraham when he said, “I had a wonderful time with these people.”

The clip featured what was one of several explosive battle sequences we got a glimpse of, which leads to one of the panel’s key takeaways: the HTTYD series, while still story-driven and full of humor, is much more action-heavy in this third installment. To DeBlois, that’s the natural conclusion of the unique opportunity he’s been given “To tell a trilogy, three acts of one story,“ as he put it, each able to stand alone as well as serve as part of that whole. His hope, and the hope of the entire crew behind the series, was to put out something that stood alongside cinema’s great trilogies, movies that never let you down, no matter which installment of the series you chose to watch. From the look of it, The Hidden World will live up to such lofty expectations. It’s a shame we’ll have to wait until Feb. 22nd, but learning more and getting that stunning new trailer make it worth the while.

Images: DreamWorks