Dreamworks hit it out of the park both critically and financially with How to Train Your Dragon last year and already the studio already has plans for both a sequel and an animated series that will air on Cartoon Network.

Executive producer Tim Johnson has opened up a bit about what we can expect from the TV spinoff and How to Train Your Dragon 2, which he says will likely be unveiled in the second half of 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Bad Taste.it caught up recently with Johnson, who had the following to say about the How to Train Your Dragon sequel:

"So, [writer/director Dean DeBlois] had a big pitch to people just two weeks ago, almost right before I came, and now everybody is trying to figure out how we would pull off that story. And we're so worried, I mean it really is about taking a look at the story and the sets and the new characters he's proposing we meet and figuring out if we can get it all done."

Johnson also discussed the How to Train Your Dragon TV show, saying that he expects it to be darker, more complex, and overall not quite as kid-friendly as Dreamworks' other hit animated movie-turned cartoon series, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, which will premiere on Nickelodeon in 2011. It's a relative comparison, Johnson admits, since both shows will still be no worse than PG-rated affairs tend to be.

For Johnson's thoughts on the proper way to utilize 3D technology as a storytelling tool and some behind-the-scenes information about the conclusion of How to Train Your Dragon, check out the full interview (which naturally contains SPOILERS) below:

While How to Train Your Dragon is on one hand a variation on the classic boy-meets-dog story, it also takes some unexpected (and, for a kid's movie, risky) twists and turns - not to mention, features some fun characters and marvelous 3D animated flying sequences. The film's ending didn't readily lend itself to a sequel, but the world of Vikings and fire-breathing creatures in How to Train Your Dragon is an interesting world in itself and will seemingly be explored in greater detail in both the followup and TV show as well.

Cast members Jay Baruchel, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, TJ Miller and Kristen Wiig will lend their vocals to How to Train Your Dragon 2. It's not yet clear if any of them will be involved in the TV show as well. Stay tuned...

Source: BadTaste.it