Dragons Takes Flight at San Diego Comic-Con 2012

| 2:45 PM/EDT

A hush falls over the crowd as they are transported from the packed convention hall to the soaring cliffs of Berk. The capacity-sized crowd cheers as Hiccup takes his dragon through a series of impossibly precise aerial maneuvers. No, this isn’t a screening of the movie DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon. It’s something better! Never-before-seen footage from the new series DreamWorks’ Dragons: Riders of Berk.

Our panel of dragon training experts included DreamWorks’ head of animation, Peter Gal, and show runners Doug Sloan and Art Brown. The trio took us through the development on the series and hinted a few surprises for the first season.

When we last left the island of Berk, Hiccup and his friends had defeated the gigantic Red Death and invited the dragons to live with Vikings. But dragons are… well, dragons. The series picks up right where the hit film left off. Hiccup and the other trainers have to help teach the dragons to fit into Viking culture, while developing stronger bonds with their own dragons. The series will bridge the gap between the first and second Dragon films. Yes, a second feature is already in development!

Gal underscored that the series will to deliver feature-quality animation on a weekly basis. The exclusive fifteen minutes of footage from across the first season certainly lives up to those claims. Catch a glimpse of the high-flying adventure below as Hiccup and friends put their dragons through their paces with a best trick competition.

Fans were excited to hear that the key cast from the film will be reprising their roles for the series. The list includes Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), America Fererra (Astrid), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Fishlegs), and T.J. Miller (Tuffnut). In addition to all-star cast of returning voice talent, the panel also announced major guest appearances by Mark Hamill, Stephen Root, Tim Conway, Tom Wilson, and David Faustino!

Though the show runners promised plenty of new dragons this season, they only announced two during the panel. The first is the Typhoomerang, a Scorcher class dragon that creates a cyclone of fire as it flies. The bigger surprise is that Hiccup’s father, Stoick, will be getting a powerful, new dragon of his own. A sound blasting beast known as a Thunderdrum.

DreamWorks’ Dragons: Riders of Berk is coming to Cartoon Network this fall!