Netflix will introduce The Umbrella Academy, a new comic book adaptation (that is neither Marvel or DC-based) on Valentine’s Day weekend.
Though long awaited by followers of the limited series, most causal comic book fans have been unaware that they even existed and, if the trailer is any indication, the new series will prove to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
Created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy has a premise that sounds very similar to The Village of the Damned — and then becomes something very different entirely.
Here, it is said, that on the same day in 1989, 43 babies were born to women at random. Each of them started their day as usual and ended it with a baby in their arms as none of them knew that they were pregnant.
Seven of these babies were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves (played by Colm Feore) who Netflix describes as a billionaire industrialist. His plan is to turn his children into The Umbrella Academy and prepare them to save the world. Unfortunately, when the kids became turbulent teens, the academy disbanded.
Now, many years later, six of the kids come back to mourn the passing of their father and solve the mystery of his death, but apparently, due to their divergent personalities and superpowers, they don’t get along very well.
It doesn’t help that one brother, known as “Number Five” (Aidan Gallagher) returns as a young boy and says that he’s been stuck in the future for years and tells the rest that they all need to work together to save the world.
His siblings are Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and Vanya (Ellen Page), each with their own special abilities. The series also stars Mary J. Blige, Emmy Raver-Lampman and Cameron Britton.
The original Umbrella Academy comic books were a six-issue series produced by Dark Horse Comics and were released between September 19, 2007 and February 20, 2008.
A second series, The Umbrella Academy: Dallas was released later in 2008 and a new series, The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion, arrived on shelves last October.
The new Netflix series debuts with 10 episodes on February 15, 2019.