Elliot Page is confirmed to be playing Viktor Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy season 3, so why does Vanya Hargreeves seem to appear in the trailer? The Umbrella Academy season 2 concluded in 2020 with the team finding themselves in a parallel timeline and facing The Sparrow Academy. It’s been a long wait since then, but The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer gave the first full look at the future of the show and Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves.
Elliot Page’s character was known as Vanya Hargreeves (AKA Number Seven) in The Umbrella Academy seasons 1 and 2. However, Elliot Page publicly came out as non-binary in December 2020 and updated their pronouns to he/they. Page’s character was then revealed in 2022 to be going by Viktor Hargreeves after an image of Viktor sitting next to Allison Hargreeves (Emmy Raver-Lampman) was posted on social media.
The fact that it appears as if Vanya is in The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer suggests that the series will provide a complete trans narrative that might have been expected. After the image release of Viktor Hargreeves, it seemed possible that The Umbrella Academy would only portray the character of Number Seven as Viktor in part to avoid any discomfort for Elliot Page in how his character is viewed. However, as Number Seven appears in The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer several times in a pretransition state outside of the scene set at the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2, it can be assumed that Viktor’s season 3 arc will fully explore their transition in a way that many shows shy away from.
In The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer Elliot Page is seen presenting in a similar way to the end of season 2 as The Sparrow Academy members are revealed. A later scene depicts Number Seven with slightly shorter hair as they talk to a member of The Sparrow Academy while referencing their earlier actions in bringing about the end of the world in seasons 1 and 2. Viktor Hargreeves is then shown with short hair, matching the image previously released, as he references the team having created a paradox and using their powers alongside Lila (Ritu Arya). This timeline seems to show that rather than having effectively transitioned between seasons, Viktor Hargreeves’ transition story will be central to the character’s The Umbrella Academy season 3 arc.
The presence of Elliot Page presenting both in a similar way to the original portrayal of Number Seven and as a more direct presentation of Viktor Hargreeves also lends credence to another possible theory. It is possible that in this reality there is another iteration of Elliot Page’s The Umbrella Academy character who, not exposed to Reginald Hargreeves’ oppressive “parenting” and Allison’s mind control, might have grown up to understand their gender more fully and have transitioned earlier in life. This character might then help Viktor Hargreeves to understand himself and to transition, and the different appearances of Viktor Hargreeves could be different characters entirely. It is unclear exactly how Viktor Hargreeves’ transition will play out when The Umbrella Academy season 3 arrives, but it is certainly being telegraphed that the show will lean into a queer narrative and portray a rarely seen transition narrative in a comic book adaptation.