‘The Umbrella Academy’ Prequel Releasing In June 2024
Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy is gearing up for a monumental year in 2024, as the global streaming service prepares to drop the final season alongside a new prequel companion novel set to release in June.
Despite delving into the early years of the iconic heroes in the first three seasons, this forthcoming young adult novel seeks to offer a more profound understanding of their youth, particularly after Five’s mysterious disappearance, spanning 336 pages.
The official synopsis for the book, slated for release on June 18th, courtesy of Abrams Books, reads:
“The Umbrella Academy has always been extraordinary—ready to spring into superpowered action at a moment’s notice. However, with Five missing and their fame reaching its zenith, Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Ben, and Viktor yearn for normalcy. Yet, being raised by someone like Hargreeves makes ‘normal’ a challenging aspiration.
Their exacting and tyrannical father figure, for whom nothing is ever enough, prompts Ben to snap during a debriefing on their latest mission. Klaus proposes a change of scenery, advocating for one night of partying like typical teenagers. Klaus knows just the place—a frat house in a neighboring college town that hosts weekend blowouts. What could possibly go wrong?
However, sneaking out of Hargreeves’s fortress is the least of their concerns. As the six teens pledge not to use their powers under any circumstances, they fail to anticipate the force of teen drama. Confronted with peculiar earthquakes, eccentric partygoers, and a potential new adversary, the Umbrella Academy must choose between the night they dreamt of and an unexpected mission that may save the world and finally secure Hargreeves’s approval.”
Alyssa Sheinmel is the talent behind the novel, adding to her portfolio of companion novels for Netflix Original series, including the Outer Banks companion titled Outer Banks: Lights Out in 2021. The New York Times best-selling author is also recognized for works like A Danger to Herself and Others, Second Star, The Castle School, and The Beautiful Between.
Notably, 2024 will see the release of another companion novel for The Umbrella Academy in February—The Umbrella Academy: The Commission Handbook. Sporting the tagline “A Complete Commission Guide To Temporal Anomalies,” this unique handbook, designed to resemble an in-universe object, offers insights into the hazards of time travel, symptoms of paradox psychosis, and detailed dossiers on the members of the Umbrella and Sparrow Academies.
While The Umbrella Academy makes its final return in 2024, a spin-off series based on the Sparrow Academy remains uncertain.