The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Ended On Another Cliffhanger. So What Comes Next?

Spoilers below.

As we’ve come to anticipate from a show as cheeky as The Umbrella Academy—Netflix’s sci-fi drama adapted from the eponymous comics—season 3 ended on a note even more confounding than season 2’s head-scratcher. The upside: A fourth season is all but guaranteed, so there’s no need to fret over the (numerous) unanswered questions. The inverse: We’re gonna be stuck theorizing for a while.

Let’s recap. After returning from 1960s Dallas to the present day only to find their erstwhile father championing a new troupe of super-heroic cadets, the Umbrella Academy team join forces—sort of—with this so-called Sparrow Academy in an attempt to prevent another doomsday. But this new doomsday isn’t just the end of the world; it’s the collapse of the entire universe, courtesy of a “Kügelblitz” initiated by the Umbrella Academy’s impossible presence in an alternate dimension. (Long story short: In the Sparrow Academy’s reality, the Umbrella Academy’s parents were all killed before they were born, which means they can’t possibly exist. So the fact they do, in fact, exist—well, essentially it drives the universe so mad that it tries to eat itself. We all have existential crises now and again.)

By the time the Kügelblitz has gobbled up most of reality, including several Sparrow Academy members and an adoptive son named Stan (RIP), the Umbrella Academy is once more under the thumb of their dad, Sir Reginald Hargreeves. He coaxes them into a suicide mission at the Hotel Oblivion, where he’s convinced they can reset the universe. But once they’ve successfully fought off the hotel guardians, Reggie sucks up all the power from his children as he attempts to fuel an unexplained device. In retaliation, his daughter Allison slices his face in half. But his death doesn’t stop her from scooting a little too close to the machine, where she presses a Big Red Button and—maybe—resets the universe? We can’t be sure, because when she triggers said button, everyone makes it out alive…but somehow changed. Allison’s husband, Ray, and daughter, Claire, now exist in the same timeline—an impossibility given Ray was alive during the 1960s and Claire during the 2010s. But forget all that: Sloane is missing! The rest of the crew have lost their superpowers! And Ben is…Ben?

While we all rewind a few times to try and piece together what just happened, let’s take a peek at the future, shall we? Here’s everything we know about season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.

Will there be a season 4 of The Umbrella Academy?

Almost certainly—unless Netflix pulls…well, a Netflix, and cancels the series before it’s had the chance to resolve its arc. Given the show’s popularity, it seems likely The Umbrella Academy will get another chapter. (Not to mention there are rumors circulating that Netflix greenlit season 4 before season 3 had even hit screens.) Still, the streamer has made no official announcement as of yet.

When will it come out?

Because Netflix has yet to officially renew the series, a release date for season 4 is purely conjecture at this point. But it’s not unreasonable to suspect season 4 wouldn’t arrive until 2023, given the numerous cast members participating and the significant visual effects involved. Season 2 dropped during summer 2020, with season 3 arriving almost two years later. Season 4 could come faster, since pandemic restrictions around production sets have eased, but it’s still going to take some time for us to find out what happened to Sloane.

What will season 4 be about?

The Umbrella Academy television series has loosely followed the comic books upon which it’s based, created and written by My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. Both season 3’s Hotel Oblivion and Sparrow Academy are direct references to the titles of Way’s third and fourth Umbrella Academy collections, the latter of which is still forthcoming. Because Volume 4: The Sparrow Academy has yet to release in print, any speculation over how its contents might influence season 4 is moot.

Still, the season 4 finale itself gives us an idea of what’s to come: The Hargreeves siblings are suddenly powerless, which worries and titillates them in equal measure. A less-hairy Luther is hellbent on finding his wife, Sloane, while Diego and Lila seem eager to embark upon a babymoon. (We’ll see how long the thrill of living like normies lasts.) The others break off, as always, but they’ll soon discover that dear old dad’s “reset universe” is one in which, apparently, he controls everything. His name is on every skyscraper, and his partner—the one Luther was protecting on the moon, remember?—is back by his side. To the surprise of absolutely no one, it seems Reg might be some sort of evil madman? Season 4 might finally give us the Umbrella Academy versus Dictator Dad showdown we’ve been waiting for.

Who will be in the cast?

A reset universe means that just about anyone could make an appearance next season—including characters we thought deceased, such as Cazzie David’s Jayme or Justin Cornwell’s Marcus. (We barely even knew him!) We can also expect all the OG Hargreeves actors to return, including Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, and Justin H. Min.

Is there a trailer?

Not yet—unless you count the finale’s mid-credits scene. (We do, by the way, absolutely count the mid-credits scene.)

This post will be updated.

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