According to reports, Netflix is looking to develop a series based on The Umbrella Academythe comic book series created and developed by Gerard Way, former frontman of punk rock band My Chemical Romance.

With Netflix's brand continuing to build and subscription numbers continuing to climb, the streaming service has been able to diversify their original content and take more risks. Some of these risks didn't pay off in ways that they wanted (like the Baz Luhrmann series The Get Down), but they now have enough strong, consistent programming to continue to take chances on potentially risky properties.

One of these said risks that is supposedly in development is The Umbrella Academy, the superhero-based comic books series started in 2007 by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. According to Splash ReportNetflix is currently developing the series following a bidding war for the rights, and that Way and The Exorcist screenwriter Jeremy Slater will be involved. Universal Studios purchased the rights to make a feature film in 2010, but the attempts never got off the ground. Word started to resurface in 2015 when it was announced that the project would be shopped as a television series and produced by Universal Cable Productions.

The Umbrella Academy takes place in 1977 during an alternate timeline where John F. Kennedy was never assassinated. It follows a dysfunctional and estranged group of superheroes who reunite after nine years apart to save the world from a lethal threat. The gothic Dark Horse property ran for three series from 2007 to 2013, with a proposed fourth series in development.

Umbrella Academy

In a 2016 interview with Collider, Slater, who also wrote the 2015 Fantastic Four and Olivia Wilde horror film The Lazarus Effect, talked about the importance of capturing the spirit and tone of the series through adaptation:

There’s a lot of weird shit in The Umbrella Academy, and it would be very easy to sand down some of those weird edges and make it more familiar to American audiences. I’m fighting very hard to not let that happen. We’re shopping around the pilot, at the moment. We’re trying to find the right home for it and trying to find someone as excited as we are.

Netflix has not yet commented on these reports by Splash Report, so it remains to be seen if the streaming service does eventually debut an adaptation of The Umbrella Academy. Given the series' own fans, and those who will be intrigued based on Way's involvement due to his success with My Chemical Romance, it certainly has potential to bring in viewers. Either way, keep checking Screen Rant for any additional information on The Umbrella Academy series.

Next: Why Is Netflix Cancelling So Many Shows?

Source: Splash Report