Netflix To Adapt Graphic Novel ‘The Umbrella Academy’

Netflix has officially ordered a live-action series adaptation of the graphic novel The Umbrella Academy from My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba.

The Umbrella Academy is based on the Eisner Award-winning comics. The series follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes known as the Umbrella Academy as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams because of their divergent personalities and abilities.

After two years of being in developed with a pilot script adapted by Jeremy Slater (The Exorcist), the streaming service has given The Umbrella Academy a 10 episode straight to series order with Universal Cable Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Bluegrass Television producing. Steve Blackman (Fargo) will serve as showrunner and exec produce the series with Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg from Dark Horse Entertainment. Way will serve co-exec producer.

You can check out an official poster released for the series by Netflix below.

“I am thrilled that The Umbrella Academy has found a home at Netflix. I couldn’t think of a better place for the vision Gabriel Ba and myself had when creating the comic, and cannot wait for people to experience that world as a live action show,” Way said in a statement.

Netflix’s vice president of original content Cindy Holland also released a statement explaining why the streaming service was interested in adapting the comic which has received acclaim for its alternate and twisted take on the superhero genre:

“What drew us to ‘The Umbrella Academy’ is that it’s wholly unique, visual and stylized. 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.”

In addition, Chief content officer at NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and UCP president Jeff Wachtel expressed his excitement to be working on the first-ever Universal Cable Productions series to land at Netflix:

“It’s a thrill to be producing this wonderful show for Netflix,” said Jeff Wachtel, chief content officer at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and UCP president. “It’s been a passion project for the UCP development crew and we can’t wait to bring it to life.”

The Umbrella Academy is set to premiere sometime during 2018.

Source: THR