The Umbrella Academy season 3 is almost here and we've finally had the first trailer to hype up the release.
With surprising changes promised and plenty of teasers to whet our appetites we could not be more excited for the brand new episodes to drop on Netflix. And we didn't even really need any of that to tickle our intrigue because, phew, what a trip season two was!
Five ensured that his siblings weren't blitzed to a pulp by the apocalypse in season one, jumping himself and them through time and space to the '60s... straight into the path of another apocalypse.
You know, usual family stuff.
The gang also dodged death at the hands of The Handler and Lila (the latter is still out there, unlike her "mother" – more on them later) after the duo waged war on The Umbrella Academy.
But all is not well. The siblings made it back to Hargreeves HQ, only to learn that it now belongs to The Sparrow Academy. There really is never a dull moment, is there?
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"[The Umbrella Academy] should be able to relax now, but something's not quite right as they've come back," showrunner Steve Blackman told Digital Spy. "Not only are these people saying they're the Sparrow Academy, but [Reginald] Hargreeves is still alive – and he shouldn't be, either."
And expect "tons of Easter eggs" too, added Blackman. "We love putting Easter eggs in for our fans, and there's more Easter eggs than ever this year."
What we're trying to say is: there's a lot more life left in this story yet. But when will it be back for season three? Here's everything you need to know.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer: Watch The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer here!
It's here, folks!
After much anticipation, Netflix has released its first full-length look at the third instalment in anticipation of its release next month.
Following straight after the events of the cliffhanger at the end of season two, and that 1963 doomsday, the trailer reveals that the superhero siblings have returned to 2019. But things aren't quite as they should be.
In a twist of events, they have entered a different reality in which a new team called The Sparrows are in charge. There's an immediate clash, which has been previously hinted at, which is to set up the challenges to be faced across the new season.
In the earlier aforementioned teaser clip, the Umbrellas and the Sparrows were seen squaring off to a dramatic musical score featuring violins. Both Number 1s – Luther Hargreeves (the OG) and Marcus Hargreeves (leader of the Sparrows and pseudo-Luther) – approach each other with a mano-a-mano energy.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 release date: When will The Umbrella Academy season 3 air?
The Umbrella Academy season three will be arriving on Netflix on June 22, hopefully to answer some of those burning questions that have plagued us since season two's shock ending in 2020.
10 brand-new episodes are on their way for our enjoyment. Filming for season three wrapped a while ago but, given just how vital special effects are to this series, it's entirely unsurprising that the wait has been so long.
Visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell told Gold Derby that the apocalyptic vision that features in season two took "months and months" to plan.
"A lot of the feature film effects tools have now trickled down into the TV industry, so we're able to get bigger and more epic-looking stuff... So every season we have to top ourselves by utilising the newest and best tools that we can get a hold of."
The Umbrella Academy season 3 cast: Who's in The Umbrella Academy season 3?
Justin H Min (Ben) will be returning for season three, except this time he's not a member of The Umbrella Academy, but The Sparrow Academy.
And clearly, he's not Ben anymore, judging by that hair and seriously bad attitude.
The rest of the Hargreeves gang will also be back given that they were, against all odds, alive and kicking at the end of season two, so that's: Vanya (Elliot Page), Five (Aidan Gallagher), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Diego (David Castañeda), Luther (Tom Hopper) and Reginald (Colm Feore).
Given the introduction of The Sparrow Academy and emo "Ben", will the rest of the Hargreeves kids also be seeing double?
Season two newcomer Lila (Ritu Arya) will also be back and, we now know, can do everything the siblings can do, only better. Plus, we wouldn't be surprised to see Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) and Pogo (Adam Godley and Ken Hall) again.
Allison's husband Raymond (Yusuf Gatewood) and Vanya's love interest Sissy (Marin Ireland) both stayed behind in the '60s, so it feels like their stories are done. Harlan, however, could pop up again in future given that he still has his powers.
And there's also room for some new faces, too, which Netflix confirmed at the start of 2021 with a big casting announcement for the Sparrow Academy. Justin H Min will now be joined by the following (complete with handy character descriptions):
Justin Cornwell (Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, I Am the Night) will play Marcus, Sparrow #1.
"A charming, chiselled colossus. Honest, virtuous, and demanding, Marcus keeps the family together. Graceful but lethal, calculated but compassionate, he is as smart as he is strong. Marcus is disciplined, rational and in control. He oozes confidence and leadership without ever having to raise his voice."
Britne Oldford (The Path, Hunters) will play Fei, Sparrow #3.
"Fei sees the world in a special way. She comes across as a misanthrope who would rather be alone than spend even a second with you. But truth be told, Fei wishes she had a friend. Most of the time, Fei is the smartest person in the room and willing to work things out. But if you cross her there's no looking back because Fei won't stop until the job is done."
Jake Epstein (Designated Survivor, Suits) will play Alphonso, Sparrow #4.
"Years of crime fighting have left his face and body with countless visual reminders of his battles. To compensate, Alphonso is armed with a caustic and biting sense of humour. The only thing he likes better than verbally battering anyone foolish enough to get in his face is a good pizza and a six-pack of beer."
Genesis Rodriguez (The Fugitive, Big Hero 6) will play Sloane, Sparrow #5.
"A romantic and a dreamer who feels a higher cosmic calling leaving her eager to see the world and experience a life beyond her upbringing. But obligations to her family keep Sloane tethered to the Academy, as does her fear of crossing the family line. But Sloane has plans… and one day she might just be brave enough to act on them."
Cazzie David (Eighty-Sixed, NY Times best-selling author of No One Asked for This) will play Jayme, Sparrow #6.
"Jayme is a loner hidden under a hoodie. She doesn't say much because she doesn't have to. Jayme has a fear-inducing snarl. Catch a glimpse of it, and you'll run across the street to avoid what follows. Smart and sharp as a knife, she spends most of her time hanging with Alphonso, her only friend."
Existential dread-inducing psykronium cube (Newcomer) will play Christopher, Sparrow #7. (How did they ever find an actor with those qualities? Remarkable.)
"Christopher is a telekinetic cube of unknown origin. He can turn the room freezing cold and induce paralysing fear. He acts as the Sparrows' consulted oracle who hands out incredible advice and serves as the family mediator. Trustworthy, loyal, and is treated by the Sparrows like any other sibling, Christopher is a force to be reckoned with."
On top of this, Javon Walton, who plays Euphoria's Ashtray, has confirmed his involvement in the upcoming season.
"Euphoria has led me to other big opportunities, which I've been super thankful for. I have some other projects coming up soon and I'm super excited about that. I'm on Umbrella Academy for their new season, season three. I got that," he told Complex.
No news on who exactly he'll be in the show, but we have had a first-look at him in action.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 plot: What will happen in The Umbrella Academy season 3?
It's "wilder, bigger and zanier" than ever before, creator Steve Blackman has said, shortly before it was confirmed the series will up its violent content, becoming TV-MA (Mature Audiences) for the first time.
Via the TV Parental Guidelines, this new rating (replacing the first two seasons' TV-14 tag) means Netflix's series is now officially "unsuitable for children under 17" as it may contain "crude indecent language, explicit sexual activity or graphic violence".
So... prepare for things to get messy.
"I think our emotional stories between this dysfunctional family, we're just building it up even more. There's some very big surprises with the family this year," Blackman said. "There are some amazing changes that people will love to sort of dig into, and there's a lot of growth for this family this year in a way that people are just not going to expect."
One of these main growth moments has already been revealed, with Elliot Page confirming his character, Vanya, will come out as transgender and become Viktor, in a parallel to the actor's real-life transition.
But until the comic book show's newest episodes drop this summer, we won't know how Viktor's transition will unfold on screen.
The Umbrella Academy loves wrong-footing viewers, employing twists and turns aplenty to shock and surprise. And according to Page, the cast, too, are often bowled over by the myriad of sizeable developments along the way.
"Well, I feel like I was surprised often, 'cos one of the delightful things about the show is as we read the scripts, a lot of things are unknown to us," he said (via Netflix). "So I feel like there's always delightful surprises."
At the end of season two, we're led to believe that The Handler is dead and the Commission, free from her iron grip, will undergo some much-needed reform. But like we said, we wouldn't be remotely surprised if she popped up again in another fabulous pair of heels with a bigger and better plan up her sleeve.
The Handler's daughter Lila managed to flee at the end, but we'd bet good money on her rocking up in season three. Will she stand with The Umbrella Academy, or use her powers against them?
Fans will be holding out for that Lila-Diego happy ending, so here's hoping they get one.
But before we talk about happy endings, there's the small matter of The Sparrow Academy, which will, undoubtedly, raise a few eyebrows.
Who are they, how did they come to be and what does this all mean for The Umbrella Academy? We can't really look to the comics for answers. While they have been introduced in the books, they're still pretty mysterious.
However, Vol 4 of the comic (as yet unreleased) is named after the group, so you can expect some major development there – and the information co-creator Gerard Way's given on that book could point the way to season three's plot.
According to Forbes, volume four of the comic series will be called 'Sparrow Academy'.
"[It] deals with a very big reveal in the Umbrella Academy universe, something that had been secret for a long time, and our siblings learn a lot about what was happening behind the scenes, as well as discovering the true nature of some characters that have been with them since the beginning," said Way.
"The series finally starts to answer the question: 'What about the other babies born on that day, in that moment?' The Umbrella Academy siblings are not alone in the world anymore."
Plus, now that Reginald's true form has been revealed, are we finally going to find out more about his big plan? There was mention of "the dark side of the moon", but how does that all fit into this?
Perhaps the biggest question of all is how on earth will our heroes even make it back to their reality? The answer to this could lie in the form of a seemingly innocuous season two Easter egg.
In episode eight, 'The Seven Stages', there's a scene where Grace breaks into Reginald's office and discovers some of the projects he's been working on.
While the focus is on space travel blueprints and plans to assassinate John F Kennedy, eagle (or sparrow)-eyed fans might have also noticed blueprints for something called the Televator, which Hargreeves describes as "the next great mode of transportation".
As fans of the comics might remember, the Televator is a lift that allows users to travel across time and space. More than that though, it can also cross dimensions. If this device somehow ends up getting made in season three, then perhaps the Umbrella Academy will be able to return home one day.
In the meantime, catch up on everything that happened in season two with this handy timeline provided by Netflix right here.
And at least we can analyse the official episode titles, which were released by Netflix as part of its massive TUDUM event back in June.
They are (in order):
• Meet the Family
• World's Biggest Ball of Twine
• Pocket Full of Lightning
• Kugelblitz
• Kindest Cut
• Marigold
• Auf Wiedersehen
• Wedding at the End of the World
• Six Bells
• Oblivion
'Meet the Family' seems pretty obvious – that'll be our Sparrows intro, while 'World's Biggest Ball of Twine' will probably deal with the previous seasons' mess of timey-wimey escapades.
'Pocket Full of Lighting' feels like a potential powers episode – or it could relate to the next episode... 'Kugelblitz' which is a scientific term for black holes formed by radiation and is directly mentioned in the first trailer.
Meanwhile, 'Kindest Cut' feels like it could involve betrayal of some kind…
We have plenty more episode title theories, and you can check them out here.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 photos: Any Umbrella Academy season 3 clues?
Speaking of plot, The Umbrella Academy official Instagram page had previously dropped seven new sizzling promo pictures that could potentially be hiding some season three Easter eggs.
The shots show the Umbrella gang minus one Ben (*sob*) plus one Lila. Already that has heads spinning at the suggestion that Lila could be joining The Umbrella Academy. This of course has given viewers an inkling of hope when it comes to the 'Liego' romance.
However that's not the only thing the photos are hinting at. The Umbrella Academy crew can be seen toting some very battered umbrellas that appear to have several gashes in the fabric. Birds flock overhead and it can be assumed that they are a quarrel of sparrows suggesting that a battle of the academies is on its way. What friction! (More on that here).
How will The Umbrella Academy feel, not only about being replaced by the Sparrows but also having to face off against their brother/former brother Ben?
While this will probably be particularly difficult for Vanya for whom Ben sacrificed his afterlife for – their touching goodbye is a tear-jerker – this will no doubt be an immense struggle for former addict Klaus.
Klaus and Ben have always had a special connection – forced, but special nonetheless. Klaus' ability to see and speak to the dead somehow kept Ben more alive than he ought to be following his death as a teen.
Over the course of season one and throughout season two Klaus was able to channel Ben's energy allowing Ben to use his own unique gifts through Klaus and eventually he is able to possess Klaus.
It's no secret that Klaus has always had problems accepting his gift and used to fear it but through Ben's love and guidance he found peace with it. Seeing this new version of Ben may be enough to push Klaus over the edge of addiction.
Here's hoping it doesn't come to that...
The Umbrella Academy seasons 1-2 are streaming now on Netflix, and season 3 is released on June 22.
![The Umbrella Academy Season 1 [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1655392197-512W8y7EkPS._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The Umbrella Academy Season 1 [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]")
The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite (Deluxe Edition)
Tales From The Umbrella Academy: You Look Like Death (Deluxe Edition)
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
