Over the summer, Netflix announced that they would continue dabbling in live-action superhero stories by bringing ‘The Umbrella Academy’ from the minds of former ‘My Chemical Romance’ frontman Gerard Way and all-star artist Gabriel Bá to life. With production slated to begin in early 2018, things have finally started to ramp up on the casting front as Ellen Page announced as the first star joining the adaptation of the fan favorite Eisner Award-winning Dark Horse series that follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities. Now, five more names have been added to the highly anticipated show, including stars from ‘Game of Thrones’, the popular British superhero series ‘Misfits’, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s cultural phenomenon ‘Hamilton’, and more.
In a press release from Dark Horse Entertainment, we learned about the latest additions to Netflix’s next production. First up is Tom Hopper. Best known as Dickon Tarly from ‘Game of Thrones’, he’ll play Luther AKA Spaceboy. Luther was groomed by his father from an early age to be the leader of The Umbrella Academy – a responsibility that has always weighed heavily on him. He is resilient, a workaholic, and possesses the ability of heightened physical strength. Upstanding to a fault, Luther always tries to do the right thing, even if that means putting others before himself.
Next, Emmy Raver-Lampman comes to the Umbrella Academy from the bright lights of Broadway where she appeared in the cast of ‘Hamilton’. She’s set to play Allison AKA The Rumor, a beautiful, elegant, and a formerly world-famous movie star who possesses the power of suggestion – anything she says aloud comes to pass. Her life seems perfect from the outside, but her ability has undermined every relationship she’s ever had. With her career on the decline and her marriage in shambles, she refuses to use her power as she seeks a more authentic life.
David Castañeda from ‘End of Watch’ and ‘Jane the Virgin’ will be Diego AKA The Kracken, a skilled, intense vigilante who has a real problem with authority. He isn’t as naturally strong or smart as his siblings, so he’s worked three times as hard for everything. Believing he should have been the leader of his family instead of his brother, he carries a massive chip on his shoulder that makes him hostile to just about everyone.
Interestingly enough, the youngest actor of the bunch is lined up to play the oldest character, so to speak. ‘Modern Family’ alum Aidan Gallagher will play Number Five, who appears to be a thirteen year old boy, but in actuality he is a fifty-eight-year-old man trapped in the body of a child. He doesn’t suffer fools and is the smartest person in the room. He’s haunted by the things he’s seen and done, and is on the verge of losing his grip on reality.
Finally, we have Irish actor Robert Sheehan. While he has appeared in numerous projects including ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’, ‘Season of the Witch’, ‘Killing Bono’, and the upcoming drama ‘Bad Samaritan’ alongside David Tennant, he is most well known as jokester Nathan Young from the 2009 cult hit ‘Misfits’, which also starred ‘Inhumans’ star Iwan Rheon and Joseph Gilgun of ‘Preacher’. Now the latest from that show to take on an iconic comic book character, Sheehan will play Klaus AKA The Seance, who is a drug addict and lovable mess of a human being and yet, if you ask him, any day now his life is going to turn around. He’s a classic “middle child” – a disarming pleaser who is seemingly everyone’s friend, but will rob you blind without thinking twice.
While it’s great to hear about all of these stars appearing in ‘The Umbrella Academy’, most are probably most psyched to see Sheehan play Klaus. After all, “lovable mess of a human being” is what he does best, especially as Nathan on ‘Misfits’. Fans loved that character and were greatly distraught when the actor left the show in 2011. Although, despite obviously being different characters, it will be very interesting to see what he does with his performance to differentiate Klaus from Nathan since they do share a number of key characteristics.
What do you think about the latest additions to the cast of ‘The Umbrella Academy’? Are you happy with casting choices? Which character are you most excited to see brought to life? And who do you think will be cast as the remaining members of the family? Let us know in the comments.
