Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy could pave the way for future shows with support for Elliot Page’s transition.
It’s been over a week since Oscar-nominated star Elliot Page announced his transition to the public. The Umbrella Academy star has received much support from the LGBTQ community and Netflix.
Since the announcement on December 1, Netflix has changed all of Elliot Page’s credits to identify with him as he is today from the former Ellen Page credits. Some fans have questioned what The Umbrella Academy writers will do with Page’s character now that Elliot has announced his transition.
In the show, Page plays a female character who is in love with another woman. Many LGBTQ members have called for queer characters to be played by queer actors and actresses. One thing to note is that the writers of the show are suspected to have no knowledge of Page’s identity from the start of the creative process for The Umbrella Academy.
Netflix has already made a great move in support of the LGBTQ+ community by changing all of Page’s credits, in addition to the progressive narratives they’ve been producing. Netflix has the power to use Page’s character in The Umbrella Academy to transition in the next season. The move would help create more space for young trans boys and girls to identify with a character who is like them. It wouldn’t be the first time Netflix has shown a character transition.
In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Lachlan Watson plays Theo Putnam, who starts the series as Susie before coming out. One major difference for The Umbrella Academy is that Page’s character is the superhero type. The opportunity for Netflix’s writers to have a trans superhuman allows kids, teens, men, and women to identify with a different type of superhero that can closely relate to the trans community, unlike past ones.
It seems that Netflix has taken a progressive approach in recent years to produce LGBTQ+ content on the streaming network. Fans can only hope that Page’s transition will reflect her character on The Umbrella Academy. Netflix has yet to announce any major moves for the series, but they are definitely standing behind Page first.
