Dragonheart, stylized as DragonHeart, is a Universal Pictures media franchise that began with the 1996 film of the same name, directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue, based on an original story by Pogue and Patrick Read Johnson. The film's moderate box office success and strong home media sales spawned the franchise, consisting of a straight-to-video sequel, three prequels, and various merchandise, including toys, trading cards, and books.
Films Dragonheart (1996)
During the Dark Ages, the young Anglo-Saxon prince Einon (Lee Oakes) gets wounded during a peasant rebellion that kills his tyrannical father, King Freyne. His mother, Queen Aislinn (Julie Christie), brings Einon to a dragon (Sean Connery) that shares half its heart with the boy-king on the condition that Einon rule with honor. When Einon betrays his word, his mentor Sir Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a knight of the Old Code, believes the dragon's heart corrupted Einon and swears vengeance. Twelve years later, Einon (David Thewlis) is a more brutal king than his father, and Bowen is an embittered dragonslayer. During one of his escapades, he meets the traveling monk Brother Gilbert (Pete Postlethwaite) and soon encounters the world's last dragon. Their battle ends in a stalemate, and they decide to team up for mutual benefit by conning villagers for money with staged dragon slayings. They become friends, and Bowen names the dragon Draco after the constellation. They meet a peasant woman named Kara (Dina Meyer), trying to start an uprising against Einon. Joining her cause, Bowen and his allies learn that they must make a great sacrifice to free the land from Einon's tyranny.
Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000)
Decades after the 1996 film, the elderly Bowen finds a dragon egg in Draco's cave a year before his death. There is a prophecy foretelling that a dragon's heart will doom humanity when a two-tailed comet arrives, so Bowen leaves the egg in the care of Brother Gilbert's monastery. The friars vow to hide the dragon until after the comet passes. Twenty years later, eight days before the fateful day, the king (Ken Shorter) names Lord Osric (Harry Van Gorkum) his chief advisor, and the task of caring for the dragon falls upon the novice monk Mansel (Matt Hickey). Meanwhile, two Hebei Province citizens, Master Kwan (Henry O) and Empress Lian (Rona Figueroa), seek the dragon to prevent the prophecy. Geoff (Chris Masterson), an orphaned stable boy in the monastery, befriends the young dragon hidden in the dungeon named Drake (Robby Benson). After the kingdom becomes aware of Drake's existence, he and Geoff fail to see the dangers hidden around them as Osric, anticipating the comet's arrival, uses Geoff's desire to be a knight to get close to Drake.
A New Beginning is the sequel to Dragonheart, the first direct-to-video film in the series, the film with the shortest runtime and the only one rated PG. It is the only film in the franchise with a female screenwriter and an original song.
Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse (2015)
A druid circle foresees a falling star from the Draco constellation in 9th century Northern Britain. A druid named Brude (Jonjo O'Neill) seeks to wage war against the inhabitants on the Southern side of Hadrian's Wall. On the wall's southern flank, Sir Horsa (Dominic Mafham) denies a squire named Gareth (Julian Morris) his knighthood until he pays 100 crowns. After a meteor crashes north of the wall, Gareth sets to find it as rumor says it contains gold. Gareth is shocked to find a set of dragon eggs guarded by a dragon (Ben Kingsley) instead. After the dragon saves Gareth's life, the two become bonded. Then Gareth and the dragon, whom Gareth names Drago, must work with an apprentice druid named Lorne (Jassa Ahluwalia) and a Celtic rebel leader named Rhonu (Tamzin Merchant) to retrieve the eggs, defeat Brude, and stop his reign of terror. Along the way, they must work to free Drago from a curse that Brude cast on him, and Gareth learns what it truly means to be a knight of the Old Code.
Dragonheart 3 is the first prequel to the 1996 film and chronologically the first in the series.
Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire (2017)
Roughly 50 years after Dragonheart 3, King Gareth dies without an heir since his son, Prince Walter, ran away from home years ago after becoming disillusioned with dragons after the untimely passing of his mother, Queen Rhonu. Drago (Patrick Stewart) does not join Gareth in death, finding himself still bonded to someone. He finds Edric (Tom Rhys Harries), a young man with enhanced strength and scales on his back. Learning that Edric is Walter's son, Drago brings him to Lundenwic, Britannia, to assume the throne. Drago soon learns his bond with Edric is incomplete, and Edric tells Drago about his estranged twin sister Mehgan (Jessamine-Bliss Bell), who bore scales on her face and could control fire. Vikings from Daneland invade Lundenwic, and Edric and Mehgan reunite. Mehgan claims the throne should be hers since she's the elder twin, but Edric refuses to step down. Drago's power source - the Heartfire - gets stolen, and Edric reluctantly gives Mehgan the throne. Once the Viking leader Thorgrim (André Eriksen) takes the Heartfire for himself and challenges the siblings' rights to the throne, Drago must use tough love to make them face family secrets and resolve their rivalry to recover the Heartfire as more than their kingdom is at stake.
Dragonheart: Vengeance (2020)
A young farm boy in Wallachia named Lukas (Jack Kane) sees his parents murdered and his home burned down by four marauders: The Bear (Ross O'Hennessy), The Wolf (Richard Ashton), The Snake (Carolina Carlsson), and The Scorpion (Tam Williams). Seeking to avenge his family, Lukas enlists the aid of a mercenary named Darius (Joseph Millson) and the ice-breathing dragon Siveth (Helena Bonham Carter), who was exiled 20 or 30 years prior for refusing to save King Razvan's (Arturo Muselli) life. Though reluctant, Lukas's mission compels Siveth to come out of hiding. As they hunt the raiders, Siveth urges Lukas not to let revenge consume him, and the trio uncovers revelations and a decades-long political conspiracy connected to them.
Including flashbacks, this film's events begin between Dragonheart 3 and 4 and end after the latter.
Themes The most prominent themes that the Dragonheart series explores are sacrifice, honor, courage, and conquering evil. The films also explore knighthood and chivalry through the Old Code.
The films show some humans and dragons with good intentions, but they backfire and cause suffering, forcing them to own up to their choices and confront thoughts and beliefs they have long avoided. The dragons often act as the humans' guiding light and moral compass, even if they do not start on ideal terms. The humans they meet are in a tough place in their lives and have lost their way, close to giving up on life, falling prey to their dark impulses after suffering tragedy or becoming disillusioned by others' corruption or lack of idealism. Spending time with the dragon and befriending it inspires the humans to reaffirm their faith in people, make the right choices, and choose the right path, though it sometimes requires both species to make personal sacrifices to rectify their mistakes and restore peace.
Cast and crew Cast
Character Films Dragonheart Dragonheart: A New Beginning Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire Dragonheart: VengeanceMain charactersDragonsDracoSean ConneryArchive footage Background portrait Drake Robby Benson colspan="3" Griffin Harry Van Gorkum colspan="3" Drago colspan="2" Ben KingsleyPatrick StewartMentionedSiveth colspan="3" Background portraitHelena Bonham CarterHumansBowenDennis QuaidDennis Quaid Harry Van Gorkum colspan="3" EinonDavid Thewlis Lee Oakes colspan="4" Brother GilbertPete Postlethwaite colspan="4" KaraDina Meyer Sandra Kovacicova colspan="4" Queen AislinnJulie Christie colspan="4" Geoff Chris Masterson colspan="3" Lord Osric of Crosley Harry Van Gorkum colspan="3" Lian Rona Figueroa colspan="3" Mansel Matt Hickey colspan="3" Master Kwan Henry O colspan="3" Gareth colspan="2" Julian MorrisValeriu BazuMentionedRhonu colspan="2" Tamzin MerchantFlashback cameo Lorne colspan="2" Jassa Ahluwalia colspan="2" Sir Horsa colspan="2" Dominic Mafham colspan="2" Brude colspan="2" Jonjo O'Neill colspan="2" Edric colspan="3" Tom Rhys Harries Rafe Williams Mehgan colspan="3" Jessamine-Bell Bliss Willa Williams Thorgrim colspan="3" André Eriksen Osmund colspan="3" Martin Hutson Walter colspan="3" Turlough Convery Oliver Buck Darius colspan="4" Joseph Millson Tomas Otto GhelaLukas colspan="4" Jack KaneSupporting and minor charactersBrokBrian Thompson colspan="4" King FreynePeter Hric colspan="4" RedbeardTerry O'Neill colspan="4" HeweWolf Christian colspan="4" FeltonJason Isaacs colspan="4" Roland Tom Burke colspan="3" The King Ken Shorter colspan="3" Friar Peter John Woodnutt colspan="3" The Potter colspan="2" Roger Ashton-Griffiths colspan="2" Traevor colspan="2" Jake Curran colspan="2" Elisedd colspan="2" Duncan Preston colspan="2" Begilda colspan="2" Ozama Oancea colspan="2" Sir Wulfric colspan="2" Serban Celea colspan="2" Cuthbert colspan="2" Daniel Everett-Lock colspan="2" Kalin colspan="2" Harry Lister-Smith colspan="2" Earl Robert Cole colspan="3" Richard Cordery Councilor Marrakar colspan="3" Delroy Brown Player colspan="3" Lewis Mackinnon Sable colspan="3" Marte Germaine Christensen Krokr colspan="3" Ørjan Gamst Hakon colspan="3" Daniel Berge Halvorsen Leiknarr colspan="3" Stig Frode Henriksen Spaki colspan="3" Elijah Ungvary Kendra colspan="3" Dina De Laurentiis King Razvan colspan="4" Arturo MuselliThe Snake colspan="4" Carolina CarlssonThe Scorpion colspan="4" Tam WilliamsThe Wolf colspan="4" Richard AshtonThe Bear colspan="4" Ross O'HennessyBlacksmith colspan="4" Cameron JackOana colspan="4" Fabienne Piolini-Castle
Crew RoleFilmsDragonheartDragonheart: A New BeginningDragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's CurseDragonheart: Battle for the HeartfireDragonheart: VengeanceMay 31, 1996August 8, 2000February 10, 2015June 13, 2017February 4, 2020104 minutes84 minutes97 minutes98 minutes97 minutesDirector(s)Rob CohenDoug LeflerColin TeaguePatrik SyversenIvan SilvestriniProducer(s) Raffaella De LaurentiisHester Hargett David Rotman Patrick Read Johnson Hester Hargett Lisa Gooding Gary Oldroyd Matthew Feitshans Matthew Feitshans Matthew Feitshans Victor Trichkov Writer(s)Charles Edward PogueShari GoodhartzMatthew Feitshans Patrick Read Johnson & Charles Edward PogueComposer(s)Randy EdelmanMark McKenzieRandy Edelman Cinematographer(s)David EggbyBuzz Feitshans IVDavid LutherAndreas JohannessenMatthew WestonEditor(s)Peter AmundsonJohn M. TaylorFiona ColbeckCharlene ShortEric StrandCharles NorrisProduction company(ies)Universal PicturesUniversal Family and Home EntertainmentRaffaella ProductionsUniversal 1440 EntertainmentCastel Film RomaniaUniversal 1440 EntertainmentRaffaella ProductionsUniversal 1440 EntertainmentDistributor(s)Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment
Production Recurring elements Heart sharing The dragons in the Dragonheart series can share half of their hearts with injured humans. Once bonded with a person, the human and dragon share every instance of each other's strength and pain, physical and emotional. In the prequels, those connected to a dragon can gain supernatural powers like pyrokinesis, enhanced strength, understanding the language of animals, sight-sharing, and the ability to sense the bonded dragon's presence.
The Old Code Except for Dragonheart: Vengeance, the films contain characters that mention the Old Code, a code of honor and chivalry and a set of rules meant to maintain order, originating from King Arthur and his knights. The complete code, revealed by the Dragonheart novelization, is as follows:Inside the table's circle,
Under the sacred sword.