The showrunner for The Umbrella Academy has explained why the series will change the Hotel Oblivion story from the original comics in season 3. Based on the Dark Horse comic series written by My Chemical Romance star Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy is a Netflix series that began back in 2019. The hit show is about to enter into its highly anticipated season 3, which will debut on Netflix today (June 22).
Centered around a dysfunctional family of seven super-powered siblings, The Umbrella Academy follows the Hargreeves family as they struggle with the death of their cold-hearted adoptive father, and the consequences that follow. Each season of The Umbrella Academy's television adaptation has loosely followed a volume of the original comic series, with season 1 focusing on The Apocalypse Suite, and season 2 vaguely based on Dallas. Both Way and his illustrator for The Umbrella Academy comics, Gabriel Bá, are executive producers on the show and have had a significant hand in the production and direction of the series. However, The Umbrella Academy season 3 is now set to deviate quite significantly from Way's original Hotel Oblivion storyline.
In an interview with The Wrap, showrunner Steve Blackman addressed why, unlike previous seasons, season 3 will not completely follow Hotel Oblivion. Blackman says that, while he wants to respect the show's source material, the TV series and the graphic novels are ultimately different projects. Describing the relationship between the TV adaptation and The Umbrella Academy comics as "symbiotic," Blackman acknowledged that season 3 will follow a new path. Read his full comment below:
“I’m trying to always be respectful of the source material, but Gerard and I got to a good place where he sort of accepts that the TV show and the graphic novel are not the same thing anymore. We’re actually sort of symbiotic where there are things in the TV show that are sort of influencing how he’s continuing the graphic novels, and clearly what he does in the graphic novels influences what we do in the TV show... There are places [Way] goes in ‘Hotel Oblivion’ we probably won’t go to."
Like many other comic-to-screen adaptations, The Umbrella Academy is not following its source material to the letter. In June of 2020, Way announced that volume 4 of the comics would be entitled Sparrow Academy. One month later, The Umbrella Academy season 2 ended with the Hargreeves siblings meeting their alternate-universe counterparts, the Sparrow Academy, jumping ahead of Way's timeline. Though season 3 seems to be largely skipping over the plot of Hotel Oblivion, the trailer does show the Hargreeves inside of the eponymous hotel. Given this, it's clear that the next instalment will still have homages to Way's third graphic novel, while setting out on a brand new plot in its own iteration.
Much like The Walking Dead, The Umbrella Academy is trying to find its own success apart from its beloved comic source material. While long-time fans of the comics may still want a faithful adaptation, a shot-for-shot remake isn't new or exciting. As with many long-running TV adaptations, it was only a matter of time before The Umbrella Academy comic and television series diverged paths, so that the show could have a life of its own as Way continues to expand his original story. However, it still remains to be seen whether The Umbrella Academy season 3 will live up to expectations of Hotel Oblivion fans, or if it should have stuck to Way's original plot.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 releases on Netflix on June 22, 2022.
Source: The Wrap