The final scenes of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World include some of his wishes fulfilled, including Hiccup and Astrid’s marriage and a touching goodbye reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. Since the franchise explores similar themes of a boy’s unlikely friendship with a creature typically cast out and misunderstood by his society, DeBlois turning to the classic makes a lot of sense.
I’d say the director achieved all of this in the latest installment!