On the heels of Elliot Page’s announcement that he is transgender and non-binary, Netflix has confirmed that Page will be a part of season 3 of Umbrella Academy. Page will continue to play the role of Vanya Hargreeves. According to Variety, sources say there are no plans to change the gender of Vanya, a cisgender woman. However, there is no information on the storylines for season 3 at this time either.
By and large the response to Page’s announcement has been positive. However, some have commented that the role of Vanya should be recast. On that question, Nick Adams, director of transgender media at GLAAD told Variety, “Trans actors can and do play both trans and cisgender characters.” With this confirmation that Page will continue in the role he originated, Netflix appears to agree.
Adapted from the comic by Gerard Way, Umbrella Academy is the story of the Hargreeves siblings. Billionaire Reginald Hargreeves raised the children to fight crime with the use of their superpowers. When last we saw the Hargreeves siblings, they were still in search of a safer world. The Sparrows may have something to say about that in season 3.
Page made the announcement on his social media accounts this week. Along with a number of celebrity tweets in support of Page, the official Netflix account on Twitter also posted its support. Additionally, Netflix has started to update the metadata on past titles to correct Page’s name. Page uses he/they pronouns. His full statement is below.
