Netflix continues to find and fund intriguing projects to bring to their members and the latest one announced is that of Umbrella Academy. The comic book series from writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba is planned fora 2018 debut as a ten episode live-action series with details to come in terms of casting. With Dark Horse folks serving as executive producers with Gerard Way, it sees Steve Blackman of Fargo and Altered Carbon coming on board as an executive producer and showrunner with the pilot script being written by Jeremy Slater.
“I am thrilled that The Umbrella Academy has found a home at Netflix.” said Gerard Way. “I couldn’t think of a better place for the vision Gabriel Bá and myself had when creating the comic, and cannot wait for people to experience that world as a live action show.”
“What drew us to The Umbrella Academy is that it’s wholly unique, visual and stylized.” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix. “These aren’t the usual superheroes, and this series will embrace the singular tone of the graphic novels — dark yet humorous, supernatural yet grounded in reality. We’re excited to see this world and introduce these unforgettable heroes to Netflix members around the globe.”
Plot Concept: In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who’d previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, “To save the world.” These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.
