The Umbrella Academy season 3’s production seems like it’s been never ending. Finally, though, it looks as if principal photography in on the home stretch.
According to various cast members, season 3’s final day of shooting is fast approaching, which means that we can start dreaming about potential release dates. To find out more about when season 3 of The Umbrella Academy is due to finish filming, though, you’ll have to read on.
We don’t know much about the next instalment of Netflix’s live-action adaptation, save for its cast and episodic titles. The show has caught up with Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s comics by this point, so it could go off in its own direction or follow the blueprint that its creators have probably laid out for The Umbrella Academy’s upcoming fourth volume.
If you’re curious about what we do know concerning season 3, you’ve come to the right place. Below, you’ll find out when its expected release date is, what the comics can tease about the next entry’s potential plot, new cast members, when the trailer could drop and more.
We’re entering spoiler territory for the first two seasons and the comics, too, so bear this in mind if you haven’t caught up with seasons 1 and 2 yet.
Release date: There is no official release date for The Umbrella Academy season 3 yet, but filming is reportedly almost done, according to star Elliot Page. Still, with heavy effects work to be done, we wouldn’t expect it before the middle of 2022.
Cast: Along with the usual ensemble cast, The Sparrow Academy brings a bunch of new faces to the show: Justin Cornwell as Marcus Hargreeves/Number One, Britne Oldford as Fei Hargreeves/Number Three, Jake Epstein as Alphonso Hargreeves/Number Four, Genesis Rodriguez as Sloane Hargreeves/Number Five and Cazzie David as Jayme Hargreeves/Number Six.
Story: With episode titles now revealed and The Sparrow Academy cast confirmed, there’s a lot to dig into about how season 2 could lead in to this next set of episodes. Check out our analysis of that below.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 release date: 2022?
The Umbrella Academy season 3 release date: 2022?
We don’t have a release date for season 3 yet. Filming began in February 2021, with the show’s official Twitter account and Deadline reporting as much late in 2020.
Oh my god! We’re back! Again! It’s official. Production for S3 of The Umbrella Academy begins in February pic.twitter.com/tZxyezzCOcNovember 10, 2020
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We weren’t sure when principal photography would wrap but, according to two Umbrella Academy stars, it looks like shooting on season 3 will end on Friday, August 27.
Taking to their Instagram page on August 20, Elliot Page revealed that the cast and crew were “almost done” working on season 3. That was followed up by Ritu Arya, who played Lila Pitts in season 2, who also confirmed that filming was due to end in the last full week of August.
Arya’s Instagram story post had disappeared by the time we updated this hub but, thankfully, Reddit was on hand to screenshot it.
When filming finally wraps, post-production can begin in earnest. Given that this aspect of creating a show arguably takes the longest, though, it’ll be a while before season 3 finds its way onto our screens.
If we had to guess, we’d say that a teaser trailer may arrive before the year is out, but don’t expect The Umbrella Academy season 3 to land on Netflix until mid-2022 at the earliest.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer
The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer: is there one?
Unsurprisingly, no. Filming is only set to wrap in late August, so we wouldn’t expect a trailer for many months yet.
Once one is released, we’ll update this section.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 plot
The Umbrella Academy season 3: what can we expect from the plot?
With two world-ending apocalypses already averted, there’s a good chance that preventing some kind of Armageddon will be on the agenda again. It would be a refreshing change of pace if it didn’t but, considering that there’s always an apocalyptic threat in the comics, expect another one in season 3.
That’s looking even more likely, too, when you consider the episode titles, which you can see in the next section.
What we do know is that The Umbrella Academy will butt heads with an eerily similar group of superpowered beings. The final scene of season 2 introduced us to The Sparrow Academy, a seemingly alternate reality group with their own set of abilities. The Sparrow Academy were introduced in the final moments of The Umbrella Academy’s most recent graphic novel volume – Hotel Oblivion – so they aren’t an original superhero group that’s been developed for the show.
Some of the show’s stars – Elliot Page, Tom Hopper and Emmy Raver-Lampman – have spoken about the “delightful surprises” that are coming in season 3. Naturally, the trio didn’t give anything significant away, but it seems like The Sparrow Academy will have something to do with those intriguing plot teases:
What excites The Umbrella Academy stars Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman about Season 3? pic.twitter.com/SsC5uo2sidMay 13, 2021
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We’ll dive into how The Sparrow Academy could factor into season 3 in the comics section below but, for now, let’s briefly recap the end of season 2.
Having spent the first season in their native 2019 before time traveling to the 1960s in season 2, the Hargreeves now find themselves in a parallel dimension. And their lives aren’t about to get any easier.
In this reality, Sir Reginald Hargreeves – the surrogate dad whose death begrudgingly brought the siblings back together in season 1 – is alive. It doesn’t take long for his famously cold style of parenting to come to the fore, as he reveals that the familiar-looking house “isn’t your home”. It is, in fact, the headquarters of The Sparrow Academy.
Normally, The Sparrow Academy’s floating green cube member would grab Luther and company’s attention (more on this in a bit). To the shock of the group, though, Ben Hargreeves – the family’s deceased brother who gave his life (again) to save Diego, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya in season 2 – is revealed to be The Sparrows’ vice-captain.
It isn’t the lovable Ben that fans are used to either; rather an impertinent narcissist who only looks out for himself. Justin H. Min, who portrays Ben, has revealed that he didn’t expect to return after season 2. Given that Ben isn’t part of the Sparrows in the comics, it was a surprising turn of events for Min and viewers:
The Umbrella Academy star @justinhmin initially thought “Can you hug me as I go?” was the last scene he would ever film for the show… pic.twitter.com/G9I1CA1ZPIJune 23, 2021
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Finally, we could get a couple of new flashback scenes to when The Umbrella Academy’s members were children. Ethan Hwang, who has portrayed a young Ben Hargreeves in the past two seasons, posted an Instagram photograph that showed him reuniting with Min:
Sure, the duo could just be hanging out, but it’s too much of a coincidence (in our opinion) that they’ve met up while filming on season 3 is ongoing. If young Ben is returning, it presents us with two possible explanations.
The first is that we’re getting flashbacks to Ben’s childhood as an Umbrella Academy member, either on an individual basis or as part of the group. Could we find out how he died? It’s something that would answer some longstanding questions we have about the fan favorite.
If that isn’t the case, we could see a young Ben as part of the Sparrow Academy. This would allow us to see how the Sparrows’ version of Ben grew up and why he’s the antithesis of the Ben we knew from seasons 1 and 2.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode titles
The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode titles: what are they?
We now know what the titles are for each of season 3’s episodes. Showrunner Steve Blackman revealed their names during Day 2 of Netflix Geeked Week (Tuesday, June 8), and you can see what the titles are in the list below:
301: Meet the Family302: World’s Biggest Ball of Twine303: Pocket Full of Lightning304: Kugelblitz305: Kindest Cut306: Marigold307: Auf Wiedersehen308: Wedding at the End of the World309: Six Bells310: Oblivion
Fans of the comics (ourselves included) know what some of those titles are referencing. As for us, we took a deep dive into the comics to see what they could tease about season 3’s titles, and you can read that article here.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 cast
The Umbrella Academy season 3 cast: which stars are returning?
As you might expect, the series’ seven main cast members will be back for season 3:
Elliot Page as Vanya Hargreeves/Number SevenTom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves/Number OneDavid Castenada as Diego Hargreeves/Number TwoEmmy Raver-Lampman as Allison Hargreeves/Number ThreeRobert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves/Number FourAidan Gallagher as Five/Number FiveJustin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves/Number Six, but he’ll be Number Two in The Sparrow Academy this time around
Colm Feore (Sir Reginald Hargreeves), Adam Godley (Pogo the chimpanzee) and Jordan Claire Robbins (Grace Hargreeves/Mom) may be back as alternate-dimension forms of their Umbrella Academy counterparts but, again, we’re yet to see an announcement on their returns.
As we alluded to earlier, too, Arya will be back as Lila Pitts. The newcomer, who first appeared in season 2, has confirmed that she’s back via her Instagram story on season 3’s filming end date. So we’re sure to get more on-off relationship stuff with Diego and Lila.
The Umbrella Academy season 3: who has been cast as The Sparrow Academy?
Spoilers for The Umbrella Academy comic book volume 3: Hotel Oblivion.
This is where things get interesting. Hotel Oblivion’s ending only gives us one real name and one moniker, with the latter being the group’s leader aka Number One. The only other Sparrow Academy name that the comics gives us is Carla, who takes Vanya to meet the group before they rescue The Umbrella Academy from being defeated by a seemingly endless number of supervillains.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Carla will feature in season 3 – unless her reveal is being held back – as Netflix has already confirmed The Sparrow Academy’s cast and their names. Here is who you can expect to see as the superhero group in season 3:
Justin Cornwell as Marcus Hargreeves/Number OneBritne Oldford as Fei Hargreeves/Number ThreeJake Epstein as Alphonso Hargreeves/Number FourGenesis Rodriguez as Sloane Hargreeves/Number FiveCazzie David as Jayme Hargreeves/Number Six
According to Netflix (as reported by IGN), The Sparrow Academy members will differ in some from their Umbrella Academy counterparts.
Marcus is said to be a born leader who is “as smart as he is strong”, while Ben is a “Machiavellian tactician” who is focused on usurping Marcus as leader. Fei is a misanthrope who, despite her tough exterior, longs for friends, and Alphonso is a pizza-loving, beer-swilling humorous individual who bears physical and mental scars from years of fighting crime.
Sloane is a “romantic” who “feels a higher cosmic being” calling to her, while Jayme is a lone-wolf who enjoys giving out “fear-inducing snarls” at anyone she deems below her. We’ll also be getting Christopher/Number Seven, who is the group’s existential dread-inducing psykronium cube, but there’s no word yet on who will be voicing this team member.
Steve Blackman, The Umbrella Academy’s showrunner, recently posted a video of one of the Sparrows in action, too. In footage that appears to show David’s Jayme flying into, and then levitating in, the air using a harness and some well placed blue screen technology. Does it give us an indication of her powers? Here’s hoping.
Blackman has also teased a storyboard image of the Sparrow Academy members on Instagram. This sketch doesn’t give anything away, as you’d expect, but it’s cool nonetheless:
The Umbrella Academy season 3: what questions need answering?
Spoilers for The Umbrella Academy comic books and season 2 on Netflix.
Over the course of two seasons, The Umbrella Academy has built up an intriguingly complex mythology, and that means plenty of questions to answer.
Fans of the TV series still don’t know why 43 children were unexpectedly born on October 1, 1989, to mothers who weren’t pregnant when the day began. Or even what happened to most of those kids. Way and Gabriel Bá’s comics reveal how this came to be in the opening pages of volume one – Apocalypse Suite – but, in case this revelation comes to light in the show, we won’t divulge it just yet.
In the comics, 13 of that number are known as The Umbrella and Sparrow Academy members. However, the show also introduced Lila as a potential 14th who we haven’t seen in the graphic novels yet. That means that there are still 29 or 30 – depending on the medium of your choice – who are yet to be revealed. The problem now, of course, is that the TV series could move ahead of the comics (like Game of Thrones did) and unveil those individuals, or plot points that may come to the comics in the future. Either way, we might see more superheroes (or supervillains) emerge as part of season 3.
We also don’t know why Ben doesn’t recognize his siblings from the old timeline, even though Sir Reginald does. And why is he no longer a spirit? “He’s alive and not a ghost,” Min confirmed at a Cable Telecommunications Association for Marketing panel (reported by Syfy Wire). “Hopefully, if we get a season 3, you’ll get to see he has quite a different personality and appearance.”
Spoiler alert: There are 43 sparrows hidden throughout Season 2 of @UmbrellaAcad. Bet you can’t tell us where they all are. pic.twitter.com/YFM4WiapBTAugust 6, 2020
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Then there’s questions over season 2’s other big reveal. Since he removed his human mask, we now know that Sir Reginald Hargreeves is an alien. Again, the comics reveal his true identity in Apocalypse Suite’s first few pages, and this one we can spoil due to the finale’s revelation.
In the comics, Sir Reginald is a world-renowned scientist, entrepreneur, inventor, and Olympic gold medalist. Oh, and a space alien. His true form hasn’t been revealed in the graphic novels yet, but it’s nailed on that the TV series will show that at this point.
Harlan, Missy’s kid who is shown to have telekinetic powers at the end of season 2, is also a major mystery. If – and it’s a big if – he has an alternate version in The Sparrow Academy’s universe, he could end up being a friend or foe to them and The Umbrella Academy.
There’s also the fact that we don’t know who the villain is for season 3. With The Commission under new, friendlier leadership following The Handler’s supposed death in season 2, it’s unlikely that they’ll be the bad guys again. How about, then, if season 3 starts introducing the comics’ supervillains into its TV adaptation? It’s possible that The Sparrow Academy are dealing with a threat far bigger than any that The Umbrella Academy has – you know, discounting two apocalypses – which means the Sparrows would need the latter’s help.
What could that threat be? Well, any number of the superpowered bad guys in the comics. Dr. Terminal, The Perseus Corporation or even a fellow superhero like The Scientific Man would be major adversaries for the teams. Something of that ilk that would require them to eventually set their differences aside and team up would make for a pleasing season 3 plot line.