The Umbrella Academy's most recent season left fans divided after everyone's favourite supernatural, if a little dysfunctional, family was forced to come to terms with what their existence meant for the greater good of the world.
After a solid few seasons of time warping and seemingly endless apocalypses, it was announced that the fourth season would be its last, with season 4 taking a very different turn than any of us saw coming.
If you've just finished the fourth and final season then chances are you know that the finale episode was pretty…final, but if you're wondering why the decision was made to end things, here we explain why Umbrella Academy season 5 isn't on the cards, as well as everything we know about a potential spin-off series.
Only Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally could pull this off.
Why won't The Umbrella Academy season 5 be happening?
Netflix announced that The Umbrella Academy season 4 would be the final of the series back in August 2022:
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In an interview with Deadline, showrunner Steve Blackman said “I’m so excited that the incredibly loyal fans of The Umbrella Academy will be able to experience the fitting end to the Hargreeves siblings’ journey we began five years ago. But before we get to that conclusion, we’ve got an amazing story ahead for season four, one that will have fans on the edge of their seats until the final minutes.”
On the decision to round off the series with its fourth season, Ritu Arya who plays Lila explained to People, “ I think there was more to explore, especially for me, with the Lila/Five stuff in the subway, all these different worlds. I would've loved to have got to explore that so much more. I think it's such a cool concept, but it goes so quickly, and it's exactly what it's supposed to be.”
In the same interview, fellow cast member Justin H. Min who plays Ben added, “So many things happened, obviously, the main one being the pandemic and the strike and it delaying things. We almost spent a year gap between each of the seasons. Someone like Aidan, he's literally grown right before our eyes. We knew at a certain point it was going to become unsustainable for us to draw this process out. I think ending it at four was the right decision and closing up all those storylines and questions that fans have had over the years.”
Will there be a spin-off of The Umbrella Academy?
It might be wishful thinking, though even with the finality of The Umbrella Academy season 4 ending, there's still plenty of questions that need to be answered, meaning plenty of material for potential spin-offs.
On the scope for a spin-off series, showrunner Blackman told The Hollywood Reporter "It is really up to Netflix at the end of the day—and we’ve talked about it and it’s a lot of variables in play,"
He added, "I think there’s a great story in young Hazel [Cameron Britton] and Cha-Cha [Blige] down the road. There’s obviously the Commission. I think there’s wonderful stories also with some other secondary characters. Then what’s wonderful about our world is we could crossover with our main characters anytime we want to because in a wonderful time-travelling world, you can end up with anyone anytime you want."
While we don't want to get our hopes up, it certainly sounds like Blackman is game for The Umbrella Academy spin-off, with him explaining "There are ideas, there’s things I’ve talked about, and if Netflix decides down the road, I’d love to do it. But ultimately Netflix will make that decision. I hope this isn’t the end of Umbrella Academy. I hope there’s another iteration somewhere down the road."
We hope so, too!
Including that emotional post-credits scene.
