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SYFY WIRE The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy's Emmy Raver-Lampman and Robert Sheehan discuss developing characters at C2E2 2020

By Jacob Oller
The Umbrella Academy Netflix

The Umbrella Academy's second season is almost upon fans, with a few character posters teasing the ambiguous future of the strained super-siblings. That also means that those that love the Netflix adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá's comic are filled with questions -- and will soon get some answers ... alongside even more questions, of course. But at least before that vicious cycle returns, solace can be taken thanks to stars Emmy Raver-Lampman and Robert Sheehan's panel at C2E2 2020.

Sheehan broke the ice by telling a story about a British mix-up that could've given the show a very different tone. He said that, instead of mentioning that writer Way was the frontman of My Chemical Romance, his agent told him that The Umbrella Academy was written by British favorite The Chemical Brothers. Not quite true, though imagining the superpowered crew with a more electronic edge does make for an enticing sci-fi fan fiction.

The pair then spoke about the explosive success of the show (nothing makes success seem real like having a Funko Pop of yourself, Raver-Lampman said), research for their roles ("I'd go into shops as Klaus," Sheehan said of his London preparation), and behind-the-scenes details. One of the most interesting was when Raver-Lampman revealed that she and Tom Hopper's epic dance scene was choreographed by Ellen Page's wife, Emma Portner. The music selected for the show is very deliberately chosen, written into the scripts given to the actors -- even Raver-Lampman's cover of "Stormy Weather."

Some of these details were all the way down to the very look of the character. Allison's hair was originally going to be Raver-Lampman's natural hair until she realized that she needed some separation. "I think it would be really helpful if I had a wig," Raver-Lampman told showrunner Steve Blackman, because it was hard getting into character when she looked like herself. With the wig addition and the new clothes, her time in the hair and makeup trailer became her time to "say goodbye to Emmy for the day and hello to Allison."

But what about Season 2? When asked if the rest of the children born on the same date as the main crew will factor into the next season, the cast members played coy: "Wouldn't that be fun?" laughed Raver-Lampman before the moderator cut her off, saying that Netflix had mandated no S2 discussion whatsoever.

What fans DO know about the next season is that it will add cast members Ritu Arya (Humans), Yusuf Gatewood (Good Omens), and Marin Ireland (Sneaky Pete) to the fun while Blackman moves the world closer and closer to its end.

The Umbrella Academy returns later this year.

Fans can read all of SYFY WIRE's C2E2 2020 coverage here.