powers trip
HOW THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY PUTS A NEW SPIN ON SUPERHEROES…
1 IT’S NETFLIX MEETS DARK HORSE
Netflix’s latest venture sees the streaming giant take on The Umbrella Academy, the violent and subversive Dark Horse superhero comic by Gerard Way (he of My Chemical Romance fame) and Brazilian illustrator Gabriel Bá. The story begins as six adults with special powers reunite at the home they grew up in, after the death of their adoptive (and manipulative) father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore). Overseeing the first season’s 10-episode run is showrunner Steve Blackman (Fargo), who pitched Way his take when they first met: “I said it’s a dysfunctional family show with a body count… and he liked that!”
2 IT’S LIKE X-MEN, ONLY… NOT
Superpowers, an academy, a father figure… we know what you’re thinking. But The Umbrella Academy is no X-Men knock-off. “I think the differences are in tone,” says Ellen Page, a veteran of the X-movies who here plays Vanya, aka The White Violin. While Vanya is without powers, Page says that how the others relate to their abilities and deal with them is “very different” from the X-Men. But what about Hargreeves? “He’s like a really mean Professor X, whose legs work!” laughs Misfits star Robert Sheehan, who plays dead-raising drug addict Klaus. “He’s totally exploiting the kids.”
3 THE CAST KICKS ASS
“I didn’t want your typical casting,” says Blackman. “I really wanted people to embody their characters.” No question, he’s assembled an eclectic bunch. Among them, Hamilton star Emmy Raver-Lampman is Allison, aka The Rumour. “I have the ability of persuasion,” smiles the actor. Tom Hopper is the super-strong Luther, aka Spaceboy. “He’s effectively the leader,” says the Brit star. With David Castañeda as the breath-holding Diego (aka The Kraken) and Aidan Gallagher as the time-travelling kid known as The Boy, the line-up also includes Mary J. Blige and Cameron Britton (Mindhunter) as deadly assassins. There will be blood…
4 THERE’S A TALKING CHIMP
One of the residents of the Hargreeves household is Dr. Pogo, a talking chimpanzee who acts like an uncle to this mismatched crew. “He’s the kindest person in their lives, the only person they can talk to, and they all love him,” says Blackman. “He’s the Alfred in the series, to use a Batman analogy.” Voiced by Adam Godley, whose face was mo-capped for the role, Pogo was created by Weta Digital, the VFX masters behind the recent Apes trilogy, making a rare foray into TV. “We talked them into it,” grins Blackman. “To me, Pogo looks lifelike. It’s pretty incredible what Weta did.”
5 THE VISUALS ROCK
Not to get too geeky, but The Umbrella Academy uses the Alexa 65 camera to capture the visuals. “We’re one of the few shows that get to use it,” enthuses Blackman, who previously tried it out on Altered Carbon. “It’s beautiful, it’s cinematic, it’s 4K and HDR [High Dynamic Range].” His reason for using a camera normally employed on film sets was simple. “I wanted it to look like a movie. I wanted to have visual style. That was what I wanted to make at the end of the day – something that felt different from the busy landscape out there.” James Mottram
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY IS AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX FROM 15 FEBRUARY.