The Umbrella Academy is one of the top and most awaited series that will hit on Netflix. The Umbrella Academy will hit on Netflix for season 4 which will arrive in either late 2023 or 2024 on looking.
The Umbrella Academy is a renowned Netflix Original superhero-comedy-drama series made by Steve Blackman, developed by Jeremy Slater, and based on the comics of the same name by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá.
For the first time, the series debuted in February 2019 with the most recent season dropping in June 2022.
The Umbrella Academy (Season 4): Renewal Status
It took a little longer than expected, but Netflix confirmed the renewal of The Umbrella Academy on Twitter. The renewal ultimately was bittersweet given that the show would also be the final season.
Showrunner Steve Blackman on the renewal said:
“I’m so excited that the incredibly loyal fans of The Umbrella Academy will be able to experience the fitting end to the Hargreeves siblings’ journey we began five years ago. But before we get to that conclusion, we’ve got an amazing story ahead for season four, one that will have fans on the edge of their seats until the final minutes.”
The Umbrella Academy (Season 3): Netflix Performance
Netflix themselves have offered us direct viewing hours numbers via their global top 10 sites. Every week, they publish 40 numbers with viewing hours for the most-watched shows and movies.
We should also note that some of the earlier seasons have also seen a bump in viewership with the release of season 3 of The Umbrella Academy. The show’s seasons 1 and 2 have featured in the hourly top 10s.
Season 2 notably scored 34.53M hours viewed between June 26th through July 10th. The first season had the biggest rise in viewership scoring 78.25M hours viewed between June 19th and July 10th. We don’t know how many of these viewing hours are fresh viewers vs people rewatching the first two seasons. Either way, viewership being spread back to the early seasons is always a good sign.
The Umbrella Academy (Season 4): Expectations
The world’s worst father
Sir Reginald Hargreeves is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the worst fathers in the known universe. Simply a means to a selfish end, Reginald’s only reason for the adoption of the children of the Umbrella Academy and Sparrow Academy was so that he could reset the universe in his image, and be reunited with his dead wife, Abigail.
Once his children realize that he’s alive, we can expect less than a civil visit from the Hargreeves family. We still don’t know the full extent of what Reginald’s universe reset means for his children, but in true Reginald fashion, we expect they’ve been screwed over again.
With the removal of their powers, the Umbrella and Sparrow Academy are a significantly reduced threat to Reginald. Life will be dramatically different for the Hargreeves family, who, without their powers will now experience a new form of vulnerability. This means no more bus ball for Klaus.
This also begs the question, in this world did Reginald adopt the Hargreeves children? Regardless of whether or not he did, this could mean that all of their respective mothers are still alive. After finally making a bond with Reginald, it was all for naught, so while Klaus will still be feeling the pain of betrayal, if he realizes his mother could still be alive, he’ll be on a road trip to Pennsylvania immediately.
If some of the Hargreeves have a better life without their powers, such as Allison, it may take some convincing to return to their former lives.
Blackman, in an interview with Netflix, said on the subject:
“… the siblings losing their powers isn’t going to be the only oddity in this timeline. Some new enemies want to see them wiped out of existence, but how do they manage without their powers? Is there even a way to get them back? The stakes have never been greater.”
Aidan Gallagher has teased that we could see the show’s characters be more akin to their comic book counterparts. In an interview with Collider, he told them, “We may see a more comic book version of Five in Season 4.”
Gallagher also spoke about what we could expect from his character, saying:
“I think he’ll go on mission mode and try to figure out how to make everything right with this new, strange reality that Hargreeves has made up. I don’t know. It may bring out a more mission-oriented version of Five. It’s very final, the way it resolves. It’s this new world, with them not having powers. I’d like to see some of the characters, at least for the time being, settle into that reality. I don’t know if Five is that type of personality. I think he’s still gonna wrestle with it, but we’ll have to see. Let’s hope it gets picked up.”
Timeskip?
In real life, Aidan Gallagher, the actor for Five is 18 years old and will turn 19 in September. By the time we expect the fourth season of The Umbrella Academy to arrive on Netflix, he’ll be almost 21 years old. Now, while Gallagher plays an extremely convincing 15-year-old, it won’t be long before he outgrows the look of one. A simple time skip would allow the actor’s real-life growth to be worked into the story of Five looking older than a 15-year-old.
Included in the time skip, we’d get to see how drastically different the lives of the Hargreeves have changed. Diego and Lila will have had their baby, if Luther can find Sloane, the newlyweds may be able to enjoy a few years of marital bliss, and Ben, clearly upset by the loss of his powers, may begin his plan to takedown Hargreeves.
Defected family
All of the Hargreeves have been through their trials, tribulations, and trauma, and despite how dysfunctional they are, they have remained as a family. But in a brand new universe without powers, the choice to move on with their lives could fracture the relationships of the family who want their powers back.
Allison’s betrayal will still sting, and while she is reunited with Claire and Ray, she may seek to repair the burning bridge with her siblings.
When asked about whether Allison is in a different timeline, showrunner Steve Blackman said:
“… Allison is not in a different timeline, she’s in the same timeline. In fact, Ray and Claire do exist in this timeline now. That was the dark deal she made with Hargreeves, to help Hargreeves bring the family together. This is what she got.”
We also see Ben from season 3 in the post-credits scene but is this a new Ben? Blackman said:
“It’s not a different timeline Ben. It’s the Ben we know from Season 3, but how that works and why we’re seeing him will be a Season 4 reveal.”
The Umbrella Academy (Season 4): Production Status and Release Date
Production on the fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy is currently penciled in to start in February 2023, according to multiple production sources seen by What’s on Netflix.
Another production resource stated that the series is due to film between Q1 2023 and Q3 2023, which could mean the series doesn’t wrap until September 2023 at the latest.
One source puts the show’s budget at between $7,000,000 to $10,000,000 per episode.
If we look back at the production schedule of the third season, production prep didn’t begin until October 2020, and filming began several months later, in February 2021. Filming ended on August 28th, 2021. That’s perhaps not the greatest comparison, however, given it was filmed throughout the height of the pandemic.
Seasons 1 and 2 of the show took around 5-6 months in development and then a further 6-8 months of post-production and localization before heading to Netflix.
Steve Blackman, the showrunner of The Umbrella Academy, has stated that the time to produce each season of The Umbrella Academy takes up to 18 months before its eventual release on Netflix, so this lines up.
In this case, our best estimate is that season 4 of The Umbrella Academy will release in Spring 2024.
The Umbrella Academy (Season 4): Cast
We expect to see the following cast members return in the fourth season of The Umbrella Academy:
It’s unclear if the deceased members of The Sparrow Academy will be returning as it’s still unclear how much of the universe has been changed by Sir Reginald.
Netflix has confirmed additional casting news will be announced at a later date.
The showrunner of The Umbrella Academy has multiple other projects in the works at Netflix. The biggest is the video game adaptation Horizon Zero Dawn where he serves as an executive producer, and a new series called Orbital described as a thriller set on the International Space Station. We’ll keep you updated on both projects as and when we get them.
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