Universal Orlando hides Kenan Thompson in concept art for Epic Universe's new theme park land based on the 'How to Train Your Dragon' world Isle of Berk.
ew.com
Universal Orlando hides Kenan Thompson in concept art for new theme park land
A rendering of Thompson hilariously appears in concept art for Epic Universe's new "How To Train Your Dragon" land.
By
Joey Nolfi
Published on March 29, 2024
The world of
How to Train Your Dragon is coming to
Universal Orlando Resort's new theme park
Epic Universe — and
Kenan Thompson is along for the ride.
Universal unveiled new concept art Thursday for its planned Isle of Berk land heading to the resort's fourth overall park that's set to open in 2025. Included in it is a drawing of the
Saturday Night Live star, who can be seen in the bottom-left corner of an artist's rendering previewing the area's dragon-inspired theming adapted from the popular animated film series.
Kenan Thompson in Universal Epic Universe's 'How to Train Your Dragon' — Isle of Berk concept art.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO
As pointed out by theme park blogger
Alicia Stella on social media, the image of Thompson in the Isle of Berk concept art appears to be a replication of a
photograph originally released in 2020, when the 45-year-old partnered with Universal Orlando as a spokesperson for the Florida destination.
EW has reached out to Universal for more information.
Universal hides Kenan Thompson in new Epic Universe concept art.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO; CHRISTOPHER POLK/E! ENTERTAINMENT/NBCUNIVERSAL/NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY
Thompson is no stranger to the resort, as he filmed
Nickelodeon sketch show
All That and spinoff series
Kenan & Kel there back in the 1990s. The Universal Studios park's New York-themed section is featured in the
All That opening
credits sequence.
"It was unbelievable,"
Thompson previously told EW of getting to run around the theme park between takes in his youth. "We didn't feel that we could do any better. We hit the goal, I guess we can retire now."
Universal Orlando's first park, Universal Studios, served as the filming location for numerous network productions inside the Nickelodeon Studios, which opened on park property in 1990 before closing in 2005.
In addition to hosting a rendering of Thompson, Epic Universe's Isle of Berk features three new rides — including a launched roller coaster, Hiccup's Wing Gliders — as well as a theater show,
The Untrainable Dragon, set to highlight a massive dragon figure flying over the audience's heads.
'How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk' concept art for Universal Epic Universe.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ORLANDO
Isle of Berk was first announced as one of five themed sections slated to debut alongside Epic Universe, with the others being themed to
Nintendo titles (Super Nintendo World), classic
Universal monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula (Dark Universe), the
Harry Potter franchise (The Wizarding World of
Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic), and astrological elements (Celestial Park).
See Thompson in the
How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk concept art for Epic Universe above.