It’s always painful to wait for the next season of a show you really love, but in the COVID era, we’re learning a whole new meaning of patience. New safety precautions are obviously essential, but they also mean delayed filming and extended production schedules, which means that painful wait for new episodes can be even longer.
One of the most anticipated returning shows currently in production is Netflix's subversive superhero drama The Umbrella Academy, which aired its second season last summer, and left viewers with one hell of a finale cliffhanger. The series was officially renewed for Season 3 last November with a plan to being production in early 2021, but now that filming is underway, how much longer do they have to go?
We caught up with The Umbrella Academy star Tom Hopper for his new action movie SAS: Red Notice and got some updates on where they’re at in filming Season 3, and how the pandemic shook up their shooting schedule.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 started filming in February, but according to Hopper, they’re still just scratching the surface of the new season’s production schedule. He explained,
“Well, the COVID protocols mean that we have shorter days, which means that the actual length of the shoot is going to be a lot longer. But yeah, we're really near the beginning. We're not that far into it at the moment, so we've got a long way to go, but it's good. The great thing is the material, the work is amazing, so every day on set is, like I say, a joy and so much fun.”
Those COVID precautions don’t just mean longer days on set, as the pandemic also slightly pushed back the start of production. But the upside is that delay gave Hopper time to shoot Sony's upcoming Resident Evil reboot without any scheduling conflicts.
“I think we were actually supposed to originally shoot a little bit earlier. I'm not sure. The only thing, the good thing that came out of it was it allowed me to shoot Resident Evil because Resident Evil was probably originally going to be a clash, but then that allowed me to shoot that.”
Hopper also gave us an update on the status of the Season 3 scripts, which he says haven’t been completely finished yet, and how the slowed-down production schedule has given the writing staff more time than ever to get things just right.
“We've not got all 10, but we've had a fair chunk and yeah, I think that you're right. I think it did allow them to have a bit of extra time on, because I think we got commissioned in the middle of all this stuff. So the writers I guess got more of a headstart. But now it's only allowed them to really refine them, so the ones we're getting now are really special.”
Hopper also spoke a bit about the benefit of getting back to work with a team that's already collaborated on two seasons of the show — and why it feels like they're on a "winning streak."
"The scripts are so great, season three, it's really such a joy to be doing it. I feel very privileged to be a part of this show. And I think the best thing really is that we're all so comfortable with each other now. So it feels like we can really hit the ground running from a creative standpoint and we've got the same crew, most of the same crew. And I think we know who these characters are and who we are playing and I think when we work with each other, we're very aware of, of how to react in these scenes.
So as a family, I think we're in a great place and it's like we're a good sports team, I suppose, when a sports team really finds that flow, and they go on a winning streak. It feels a bit like that."
No official release date has been announced for The Umbrella Academy Season 3 yet, and from the sound of it, we might have to wait a while for more details. But until then, let's continue to obsess over the biggest questions left from Season 2, and stay tuned for more from our interview with Hopper.