The Umbrella Academy season 4: Netflix release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot synopsis, and more
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The Umbrella Academy season 4: key information
- Will be the popular series' final season
- Release date announced in February
- Shorter season comprising six episodes only
- Trailers released in late May and early July
- Main cast all set to return
- New cast additions confirmed
- Story synopsis and episode titles revealed
- Will answer "a lot" of fans' questions
- No planned spin-off projects
It's almost time, Brellies. The Umbrella Academy season 4 is almost here – and, with it marking the end of the road for the popular Netflix show, it's sure to be a tragic affair.
As the clock counts down towards The Umbrella Academy's endgame, then, we imagine you'll want to get the scoop on the hit series' final chapter. Below, we've compiled every single piece of official information (plus the odd rumor or six) about the superhero series' last installment. That includes its release date, confirmed cast, trailers, plot details, and more.
Major spoilers follow for The Umbrella Academy season 3 and the seasons preceding it on the world's best streaming service. Potential season 4 spoilers are discussed, too, so proceed at your own risk.
The Umbrella Academy season 4 release date
In February, Netflix confirmed The Umbrella Academy season 4 would mark the show's apocalyptic end on Thursday, August 8. Before then, Netflix had only revealed that The Umbrella Academy 4 would arrive sometime in 2024.
Unlike the previous three seasons – all of whom contain 10 episodes –the show's last hurrah only has six; a development that certainly disappointed fans. Still, considering Netflix has a penchant for cancelling shows before their time is over, at least we're getting one more season.
The Umbrella Academy season 4 trailer
The Umbrella Academy season 4's official trailer debuted in early July, and it suggests that Ben Hargreeves will have a big role to play in this chapter's apocalypse. Indeed, in the latest teaser, we hear someone say "that tentacle boy is the key to understanding all the timelines". Just maybe, then, we'll find out how the original Ben died and whether this tragic event is the key to solving the never-ending cycle of world-ending events that the Hargreeves siblings simultaneously prevent and set in motion.
Missed season 4's first trailer, which launched in late May and it teased one final world-saving mission and lots more Ben in the Netflix show's final installment? Watch it below:
Before the first teaser's debut, we were also treated to a brief season 4 clip as part of February's Next on Netflix 2024 trailer. In it, we got a quick look at an intoxicating Hargreeves family reunion, which shows the siblings reuniting for some food and a round of alcoholic shots. They'll need all the Dutch courage they can muster to stave off another cataclysmic event, after all.
The Umbrella Academy season 4 cast: confirmed and rumored
Major spoilers follow for The Umbrella Academy season 3.
Here's The Umbrella Academy season 4's confirmed cast so far:
Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves
Tom Hopper as Luther Hargreeves
David Casta?eda as Diego Hargreeves
Emmy Raver-Lampman as Alison Hargreeves
Robert Sheehan as Klaus Hargreeves
Aidan Gallagher as Number Five
Justin H. Min as Ben Hargreeves
Ritu Arya as Lila Pitts
Colm Feore as Sir Reginald Hargreeves
Nick Offerman as Gene Thibedeau
Megan Mullally as Jean Thibedeau
David Cross as Sy Grossman
Apart from the final three actors, the rest of The Umbrella Academy season 4's cast reprise their roles from one of the best Netflix shows' three previous entries.
On the newcomer front, Nick Offerman (The Last of Us, Parks and Recreation) will play Doctor Gene Thibedeau, while Megan Mullally (Will & Grace, Parks and Recreation) is portraying Gene's fellow scientist (and wife) – that being the aptly named Doctor Jean Thibedeau. David Cross (Arrested Development) will also feature as Sy Grossman. This trio don't appear in the source material, so we're unsure if they'll be heroic or villainous characters.
That said, we know a little bit about the roles they'll play in season 4. According to Netflix Tudum, the Thibedeaus are a pair of "mild-mannered Midwestern community college professors". We suspect their existence will be a by-product of the time-traveling and/or multiversal shenanigans that the Hargreeves clan are a part of. Meanwhile, Grossman is "an upstanding but shy business owner and family man" who is "desperate to reconnect with his estranged (and unnamed) daughter [and] he will stop at nothing to get her back."
The Umbrella Academy season 4's new cast reveals had us worried upon their unveiling, particularly in light of Netflix's adaptation going in its own creative direction. At this point, there are no new The Umbrella Academy graphic novels for it to draw from, so season 4's plot and new characters will be wholly original creations. Regardless, if showrunner Steve Blackman and his fellow writers have valid reasons for the aforementioned trio's inclusion, we'll try not to complain and hope they serve the story well.
Lastly on the cast front, we expect to see Liisa Repo-Martell return as Abigail Hargreeves, Reginald's resurrected wife following her tease in the season 3 finale. It's unclear if Luther will be reunited with his wife Sloane Hargreeves (Genesis Rodriguez), the only other member of The Sparrow Academy – Ben aside – who made it to the end of season 3. She might have been blinked out of existence by the emergence of yet another timeline, though, so Rodriguez may not return. We'll elaborate more on this in our plot section. Speaking of which...
The Umbrella Academy season 4 story synopsis and speculation
Full spoilers follow for The Umbrella Academy's first three seasons. Potential season 4 spoilers are also inbound.
Here's The Umbrella Academy season 4's story brief: "The Hargreeves siblings have scattered after the climactic showdown at the Hotel Oblivion led to a complete reset of their timeline. Stripped of their powers, each is left to fend for themselves and find a new normal – with wildly varying degrees of success.
"Yet, the trappings of their uncanny new world prove too hard to ignore for very long. Their father Reginald, alive and well, has stepped out of the shadows and into the public eye, overseeing a powerful and nefarious business empire. A mysterious association known as The Keepers holds clandestine meetings believing the reality they’re living in is a lie and a great reckoning is coming. As these strange new forces conspire around them, the Umbrella Academy must come together one last time – and risk upsetting the shaky peace they’ve all endured so much to secure – to finally set things right."
Prior to that plot reveal, in a pre-recorded video released during Netflix Geeked Week 2023, the cast teased that season 4 will "hit the ground running" in the hit Netflix show's "bittersweet" final entry.
Months later, The Umbrella Academy season 4's episode titles were revealed and birthed new fan theories about what'll happen in the final season. The first entry's name suggests all might not be well among the Hargreeves siblings after they lost their powers in the season 3 finale. The second and third entries tease that we'll learn more about the Thibedeaus and Ben (you know, the sibling with an eldritch-style squid monster living beneath his skin), while the final episode hints at the show's bittersweet finale that the cast allude to. What episode 4 and 5's titles mean is anyone's guess.
But back to the Hargreeves siblings being deprived of their superpowers. In the season 3 finale, Alison reset the universe using the Hotel Oblivion, which was a cover for Sir Reginald Hargreeves' (yep, the group's surrogate dad) attempt to resurrect his wife Abigail. This caused the group to lose their abilities, brought Luther back from the dead (Reginald killed him in season 3 episode 9), and gave Five his right arm back (he lost it in the fight with the hotel's Guardians in the same episode).
With the siblings believing they're finally free of their father and years of being forced to be superheroes, they collectively – though not without pushback from some members – decide to go their separate ways. However, it's clear this honeymoon period won't last. As the first episode title suggests, the siblings will soon realize being normal isn't all it's cracked up to be.
When they learn Reginald and his revived wife Abigail are now lording it over this new-look universe – we see the pair looking down on everything they apparently own before season 3 ends – and that another apocalypse is inbound, they'll presumably want to get their abilities back and try and save the day (properly, this time!) again. Will they need their patriarch's help to do so? We'll find out soon enough.
The other major problem – outside of losing their powers and finding out their emotionally cold, dangerous father is alive – facing the siblings will be preventing said world-ending event. This increasingly tiresome storytelling device has been used in the three previous installments, and another one will form the basis for The Umbrella Academy's fourth season. Let's hope they break the cycle of infinity cataclysms before the show's final end credits roll.
As for the role Reginald will play, Blackman offered some insight (per Netflix Tudum) post-season 3, saying: "To the viewer, I think he is the villain. In every timeline, Reggie seems to have the ability to play puppet master to these kids. If you follow the timeline of three seasons, he started his plan 100 years ago. He’s been waiting a very, very long time to bring his wife back from the dead.
"Reggie thinks he gave them a gift. He took away their power. He took away the thing they most complained about. Now, that may not be true, but if you jump into Reggie’s mind for a second, I think he says, 'You guys got what you want. You don’t have to be burdened by this power anymore. You’re all normal again. You’re all just like everyone else. Have a good life', which sets up a wonderful season 4."
The Hargreeves family won't just have to deal with their daddy issues and another impending apocalypse, mind you. Blackman also told Tudum that "there are new enemies who want to see them wiped out of existence", so it'll be fascinating to see how they deal with these threats without their powers.
New foes notwithstanding, Ben Hargreeves is set to play an integral role in season 4. An original Umbrella Academy member, who died (again) in season 2, he was brought back as a Sparrow Academy member who also survived season 3's events alongside Sloane (time-travel is complicated...). Now, it appears that the Sparrow Academy version of Ben is officially part of the family again – or is he? It's possible that there might be two versions of Ben in season 4: the aforementioned Sparrow one and, potentially, another who was created as part of Allison's timeline reset.
So, what's the deal here? Blackman wouldn't say, but did tease to Tudum: "As every good fan knows, no moment in the show exists in isolation. Everything we see has meaning. And this moment is no exception. Ben has a reason to be there".
There are plenty more subplots to be resolved as well. The breakdown in Allison and Viktor's relationship, Klaus facing up to the fact he's now a mortal being, Five's likely struggle at failing to stop another universe-ending event, Lila and Diego heading off to start their new family (Lila revealed she was pregnant in season 3), and confirmation about whether Sloane is alive or not in this new reality need to be addressed. Oh, and let's no forget the Thibedeaus who, as evidenced by their debut in season 4's very first scene (see the X/Twitter post below for confirmation on that), will have their own motives for helping or hindering the Hargreeves siblings this season.
And that's all before we get to the season 4 finale, aka 'End of the Beginning'. We're not sure what it's hinting at, but it could be the Hargreeves children are successful in stopping whatever cataclysm threatens the new timeline, reverting the universe back to its original form, and starting their lives over properly for the first time. Well, as long as they survive whatever world-ending event threatens this timeline...
Alternatively, it could hint that they're trapped in a permanent time loop, where they'll be forever doomed to live the same events over and over again. The 'beginning' part of the title suggests this could be the case, with the siblings saving the day in season 4 again before being sent back to season 1's opening entry. If that's the price they must pay to keep the universe safe, it might be one worth sacrificing their lives and happiness for.
No matter how the series ends, Blackman has claimed we'll be "pleased" to get "a lot" of answers to our most pressing questions in The Umbrella Academy season 4 (via GamesRadar). Let's hope we're not left disappointed when the final credits roll.
The Umbrella Academy season 4: is it really the final entry?
Yes. Blackman, who was recently accused of toxic behaviour – which he denies – throughout the series (per Rolling Stone), previously confirmed The Umbrella Academy season 4 will be the show's last entry. In true Brellies fashion, then, we'll need to prepare for a funeral-like event to say goodbye to the Hargreeves later this year.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in June 2022, Blackman revealed he'd always had a four-season series in mind, so we shouldn't be surprised that it'll end imminently. Still, we're disappointed that we'll never see another epic Hargreeves dance-off post-season 4. We'll be making the most of The Umbrella Academy season 4, then, when it's released.
For more Netflix TV-based coverage, check out our guides on Arcane season 2, Stranger Things season 5, Wednesday season 2, and Cobra Kai season 6 part 2.
