After The Umbrella Academy, Gerard Way Now Introduces The Paper Academy

The Umbrella Academy gave full closure to the stories of the Hargreeves siblings after four seasons, but there are other teams that were never explored, and the Paper Academy might be among them. The last two decades have seen the release of some of the best fantasy TV shows of all time, with Netflix being a strong competitor in that genre with its original productions. One of Netflix’s best fantasy shows to date is The Umbrella Academy, a superhero fantasy drama show based on the comic book series of the same name created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá.

The Umbrella Academy arrived during the wave of darker superhero storylines prompted by the success of franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, and follows a different type of superhero team. The Umbrella Academy was a consistent success throughout its first three seasons, but its fourth and final season, which was significantly shorter, felt rushed, and the series finale was quite divisive. Still, The Umbrella Academy is one of the best fantasy TV shows of the decade.

The Umbrella Academy officially ended in 2024, but the franchise has continued to expand through comics, with the most recent one, The Umbrella Academy: Plan B, released in 2025. While there are no plans for a sequel series, revival, or continuation of any kind to Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, another school that could very well be part of the universe of the Hargreeves has been introduced in a new short film, and it’s called The Paper Academy.

Prelude To The End Features ‘The Paper Academy’

The Umbrella Academy focused on the Hargreeves, seven adopted siblings, each with a unique set of superpowers, who were adopted and trained by scientist and billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore). The Hargreeves, along with 36 other kids around the world, were born to women who weren’t pregnant when the day began, and upon hearing about this event, Reginald set out to adopt as many of those kids as he could.

However, Reginald wasn’t a good father and was very cold and strict with his adopted children, to the point where they all eventually parted ways. The siblings reunited after Reginald’s death, and they were forced to team up to stop the end of the world – and that was the beginning of a series of wild events that included time travel, a multiverse, and different apocalypses. In season 3, The Umbrella Academy introduced the Sparrow Academy, a team formed by Reginald in another timeline with other kids (and Ben, who was alive in this timeline).

This confirmed that the Umbrella Academy isn’t the only team in the multiverse formed by Reginald, and there was even speculation of a Squirrel Academy that could be introduced at some point. Now, My Chemical Romance and Lauren Tsai have joined forces in the animated short film Prelude to The End, which takes viewers into the Paper Academy. While it isn’t explicitly connected to The Umbrella Academy, the similarities are too obvious to ignore.

Prelude to The End centers on Astrid, a student at the Paper Academy who is questioned by the Principal about her “delusions” and the contents of her notebook. Astrid has broken every rule at the academy (don’t get hurt, no delusions, and all trash is taken care of), with the Principal reminding her that she, like everyone else there, is “sick.” Astrid sees a black hole forming in her hand, and when her notebook is thrown to the trash, she goes on a trippy journey where she meets a crow.

Prelude to The End has some sneaky cameos by Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, and Hideo Kojima.

The Paper Academy, like the Umbrella one, has a strict master, misfit kids, takes place at an old gothic house, and the kids are manipulated by said strict leaders (as happened to Viktor before season 1). This Principal isn’t Reginald, so the Paper Academy could be a deeply misunderstood group of kids treated as if there was something wrong with them when, in reality, they all possess incredible abilities.

Gerard Way Has Continued The Umbrella Academy’s Story In Its Original Form

The Umbrella Academy the Hargreeves looking up

As mentioned above, The Paper Academy has no official connection to The Umbrella Academy despite their similarities, so Prelude to The End can’t exactly be considered an extension of or addition to the Netflix show. However, the world of The Umbrella Academy didn’t end with season 4, as it has continued through the comic books.

The above-mentioned The Umbrella Academy: Plan B comic book is the storyline used in season 3 of the Netflix show, thus introducing the Sparrow Academy and following the Umbrella Hargreeves as they discover more about their origins and Reginald’s connection to them. At the time of writing, there are no plans for another volume of the Umbrella Academy comic books, but if there are more, one can only hope that they will answer all the questions left by the show.