First Look at Netflix's Adaptation of Cult Comic Series The Umbrella Academy
While everyone has their eyes on the major superhero universes from DC and Marvel, thank Odin that there seems to be someone from the streaming services who has their eye outside the mainstream.
Netflix has just released a teaser and the first images from its live-action series based on The Umbrella Academy, the dark, quirky Eisner Award-winning graphic novels by writer (and frontman for My Chemical Romance, ICYMI) Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá.
Now, there's a lot to explain about this oddball league of superheroes—and we'll get to that later—but in the meantime, the trailer shows off its star-studded cast of, well, oddballs:
In 1989, the story goes, 43 random women with no connection to one another gave birth around the same time, without having shown signs that they were even pregnant. Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves—genius inventor, scientist, wealthy entrepreneur, and alien in disguise (so basically Elon Musk)—adopted seven of the children born from these women, with the vision of training them to become a powerful group of superheroes.
But instead of being Alfred to seven potential Batmans, Hargreeves really went all out in giving the children shitty childhoods, producing a bunch of deeply dysfunctional adults who can barely keep it together, much less save the world.
Named The Umbrella Academy, the children are less known by their real names as they are by their code names and their numbers, assigned by Sir Reginald in order of their usefulness. (Told you he was a shitty father.)
The trailer shows Tom Hopper (somewhat-lately seen as poor Dickon Tarly in Game of Thrones) as Number 1. Ellen Page also headlines as Number 7, along with Mary J. Blige as the villain Cha-cha, David Castañeda as Number 4, and Robert Sheehan as Number 2.
Netflix, if you recall, announced earlier this year the production of an anime series based on Trese, alongside titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion and the stop-motion version of Rilakkuma and Kaoru. There are more mainstream choices, too, like Ultraman and the animated version of Pacific Rim.
The Umbrella Academy premieres on Netflix on 15 February 2019. In the meantime, enjoy these other images from the cast:
View this post on InstagramSuper strong. Super lonely. No. 1 ???? Luther Hargreeves. #UmbrellaAcademy
View this post on InstagramSuper famous. Super over it. No. 3 ???? Allison Hargreeves. #UmbrellaAcademy
View this post on InstagramSuper high. Super unpredictable. No. 4 ????Klaus Hargreeves. #UmbrellaAcademy
View this post on InstagramSuper ordinary. Super solitary. No. 7 ???? Vanya Hargreeves #UmbrellaAcademy
