The live action Netflix adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s original graphic novel series Umbrella Academy has been given an official release date: February 12, 2019.
A “twisted, dysfunctional” take on superheroes, Umbrella Academy centers around the lives of six individuals, part of a group of mysterious kids, part of a group of 43 kids, all born on the same day at the same time of apparently immaculate conception. Each of the children had some sort of superpower, but only seven of them were adopted by a mysterious and wealthy benefactor named Sir Reginald Hargreeves seventeen years later. Hargreeves founds “the Umbrella Academy” where he plans to train and support his new superpowered children.
Fans at New York Comic Con were treated to an exclusive first look trailer showcasing the show’s unique and surreal tone. Set to a plucky, instrumental cover of The Turtles’ “So Happy Together,” the trailer was a collection of clips that established the world of the show with a voice over about the birth of the 43 children, their adoption, and the founding of the Academy. With the world building out of the way, the trailer began hopping around to brief clips of each character in action, building tension after the apparent death of Hargreeves.
The show will kick off in 1989 with the birth of the kids, a setting that’s actually unique to the show. The bulk of the graphic novel is set in 1977, in an alternate timeline where John F. Kennedy was never assassinated. Details about the plot and other liberties the show may take are still vague. However, actor Aiden Gallagher (No. 00.06 ‘The Boy’), a fan of the original books, offered assurance, “I think we do a good job of honoring the comic, but we’ve got some surprises for you.”
Umbrella Academy stars Ellen Page (Vanya Hargreeves aka The White Violin), Tom Hopper (Luther Hargreeves aka Spaceboy), David Castañeda (Diego Hargreeves aka The Kraken), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison Hargreeves aka The Rumor), Robert Sheehan (Klaus Hargreeves aka The Seance), Aiden Gallagher (The Boy), Mary J. Blige (Cha-Cha), and Cameron Britton (Hazel).