The Umbrella Academy season 3 is reportedly setting up an explanation to the Sparrow Academy in a way that could eclipse the fourth volume of the graphics novels. The show’s renewal is still up in the air but an official announcement is all that’s lacking based on the reviews and reactions from Netflix subscribers.
The show’s return looks like a done deal since showrunner Steve Blackman recently signed a long-term contract with the streaming platform. It’s not hard to conclude that The Umbrella Academy season 3 is happening and likely way ahead of the story from the source material.
According to Blackman, he and graphic novel creator Gerard Way discussed where the next storylines will over a year ago.
“When I found out he was doing the Sparrows, I got really excited. I knew I really wanted to go somewhere with it,” Blackman said. “We talked about it going forward. I had a similar idea.”
What is Sparrow Academy?
[Spoiler Alert!] The Umbrella Academy season 2 ended with a neat set up to the next installment. The Hargreeves siblings returned to their current timeline, only to realize that it’s yet another alternate reality.
In this timeline, their dead brother Ben (Justin H. Min) is very much alive and part of the Sparrow Academy. Apparently, the patriarch Reginald Hargreeves adopted a different superhero group instead of Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Vanya and Number Five.
Way is still working on the story of the Sparrow Academy for the graphic novels. The Netflix TV show is also charting the same path, with Blackman regularly consulting with Way for the third season. It’s highly possible the TV series might be released ahead of the comics.
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Ben’s bigger story next season
Blackman also said that Ben was always going to have a major storyline in the series. It was in the plan from the beginning and it’s the obvious next step, according to his interview with Inverse.
“I love Justin and I love the character of Ben, and we’ve really grown that character out to become bigger than the graphic novel,” the showrunner said. “He’s a fan favorite.”
Meanwhile, actor David Castañeda (Diego) confirmed that Blackman has The Umbrella Academy season 3 in the works.
“There’s been some notes, some ideas thrown back and forth if we get the opportunity to go forward,” Castañeda shared. “But Steve kind of keeps all that stuff really close to his chest until we get a hard confirmation.”
Image used courtesy of Netflix/YouTube