The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman is conscious about getting too far ahead of the original graphic novels.
Having just unleashed its third season on Netflix, this eccentric superhero saga has now sailed past Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá's work on the page.
Holding Game of Thrones up as a mirror – the HBO drama adapted the last of author George RR Martin's epic story in season 5, leaving a whole three seasons' worth of blank canvas – Blackman explained to Inverse why he's not too worried over his own show's position.
Related: Umbrella Academy season 3 credits scene explained - Where's Ben going?
"No pressure at all. Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá have great generosity of spirit. They know the next 10 volumes that they'll write over a decade. So they always share with me where they think they're going," he revealed.
"We've come to an understanding that the graphic novel and the TV show can coexist. We inspire each other. Things we do in the show, often they say, 'Hey that's cool, we'll put that in the graphic novel'."
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"I'd like not to get too ahead of the comics," Blackman added. "I don't want the show to eventually completely go off to a corner that doesn't match anything they're doing."
Related: Game of Thrones' new spin-off reveals look at new dragon
Such was the failure of Thrones' eventual autonomy, the fantasy's eighth and final season inspired fan vitriol like we've never seen.
Addressing this back in December, Tyrion Lannister's Peter Dinklage suggested: "We were going off the air and they didn't know what to do with their Sunday nights anymore. They wanted more, so they backlashed about that."
The Umbrella Academy seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Netflix.
![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]")
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
