The Umbrella Academy is an upcoming Netflix original series from showrunner Steve Blackman (Fargo, Altered Carbon) and adapted by the Darkhorse Comics series from writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba. Starring Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, David Castañeda, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, and Mary J. Blige, the series debuts season one on February 15, 2019.
A dysfunctional family of superheroes comes together to solve the mystery of their father’s death, the threat of the apocalypse and more.
The Umbrella Academy is a masterpiece. If you haven’t read Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s Darkhorse Comic series about a dysfunctional family of superheroes then I urge you to check out volumes one and two at your local comic shops immediately. Don’t wait for the TV series to make its debut – read these comics first and regret nothing. I truly believe that this is the Watchmen of our generation. Gerard Way is one helluva singer and artist (you may have heard him sing for a band called My Chemical Romance) but as great as he is a musician, he’s an even better comic book creator and Umbrella Academy is his masterwork.
The comic series looks to be returning from a lengthy hiatus very soon as well coinciding with the TV adaptation which excites me to no end, but it’s going to be extremely tough topping those two legendary trades. The series most definitely looks to be adapting the first arc which deals with “the white violin” while planting some very big seeds or possibly even adapting some volume 2 stuff right away considering the inclusion of Hazel and Cha-Cha, aka the two masked psychopathic time travelling assassins which make two very creepy appearances while in mask in this very teaser trailer. Cameron Britton, and Mary J. Blige are going to be paying these two supporting characters and I’m ecstatic to see what they can do, because their comic counterparts were equal parts terrifying and hilarious.
The Umbrella Academy is going to be weird. There’s a talking ape butler, there’s going to be Tom Hopper with giant robotic gorilla arms for some reason and there’s going to be time travel and all kinds of shocking twists and turns that I can’t wait to see unfold in this Netflix adaptation. Stay tuned people – this show has the potential to be something VERY special in February 2019.