'Umbrella Academy' Season 2 Cast Could Add a New Super-Powered Person

Netflix announced Tuesday in a press release that three new actors had been cast in The Umbrella Academy Season 2, and based on the roles described, there are no precedents from the comics the series is based on. That could either be a huge case of misdirection — or, more likely, the series is striking out on its own to tell an exciting, unique story with these characters.

Ritu Arya (Humans), Yusuf Gatewood (Good Omens), and Marin Ireland (Y: The Last Man) will join the returning cast of seven core Umbrella Academy members in Season 2. Gatewood and Ireland are a bit too old to be two of the original 43 babies born with various powers, but Ritu Arya could be one of the 36 long lost siblings to the seven Academy members. This is pure speculation, but something about this just fits.

Arya will play Lila, “a chameleon who can be as brilliant or as clinically insane as the situation requires.” The official press release describes her as “unpredictable, mischievous, and sarcastic … with a twisted sense of humor.” What if that “chameleon” thing is more literal than the description implies? Could we be looking at a super-powered woman who can cloak herself, who’s become a bit mentally unhinged on account of her power?

Gatewood will play Raymond, “a born leader with the smarts, gravitas, and the confidence to never have to prove it to anyone” also described as “warm, dedicated” with “the innate ability to disarm you with a look.” He sounds likable, to say the least, but with the time travel organization effectively dismantled, could he be a part of some new villainous corporate entity? Curiously, the press release also calls him “a devoted husband” and “the kind of guy everyone wants to know.”

The last addition, Marin Ireland is Sissy, “a fearless, no-nonsense Texas mom who married young for all the wrong reasons. Still in her prime, she’s eager to rediscover what life and love has to offer.” Are Raymond and Sissy married? Probably not, but there’s not telling precisely how these characters might be connected in the new season, especially when Season 1 ended with the Umbrella Academy members going back in time into their former bodies.

But Season 2 sort of needs to show us what happened to the other 36 children born with powers. This could be a start.

**The Umbrella Academy Season 2 has no confirmed release date.