Will The Coronavirus Affect The Release Of Umbrella Academy Season 2?

The coronavirus sweeping the globe has claimed many cinematic and television projects in its wake, with production shutting down on movies and series including upcoming projects on Netflix and Disney+. The list of films and shows impacted by COVID-19 seems to be growing every day, with the release dates for major upcoming films (think Black Widow and Fast and Furious 9) being pushed back in the face of the growing pandemic.

Netflix has so far halted the production of the vast majority of its projects across the U.S. and Canada, and is assessing all international projects on a case-by-case basis at the moment. The week of Monday, March 16, it was announced that The Witcher, which is filmed in the U.K., was halting production on season 2 only a few weeks into filming. However, it seems Netflix is hoping The Crown, which has just a week left of filming for its impending fourth season, will pull through and wrap shooting before it's forced to shut down.

But what about the second season of Umbrella Academy? Netflix released the first concept art for season 2 of the superhero series just a month ago in February 2020, with an official release date as yet unconfirmed by the streaming giant. Even so, recent information coming from cast and crew would seem to indicate that the show is very much in the post-production phase of its second season, meaning that filming has already been completed. Will its debut be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, or is The Umbrella Academy season 2 sailing on safe waters?

In mid-March 2020, The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman posted to his Instagram account and gave fans hope that season 2 of the series is one project that might not be derailed by the coronavirus spread.

"Even #corona can't stop an Umbrella Academy Mix! But I swear we're washing our hands..." Blackman wrote in the caption of the photo, which depicted a soundboard and a scene showing David Castañeda's Diego Hargreeves looking distinctly hairier than he did when fans last saw him at the end of The Umbrella Academy season 1.

If season 2 of the show is already at the sound mixing stage, it likely means there are very few people on site at the moment actually working on the project. And if that's the case, the Umbrella Academy team may be able to finish production without any delays. Taking that into account, fans might not have to wait very long for Netflix to drop the new season. 

Considering the cancellations and delays happening across the globe in the entertainment industry — and many other Netflix shows now on an indefinite production hiatus — the streaming service may even choose to release Umbrella Academy's second season sooner than originally planned just to give people self-isolating in their homes something new to watch. Plenty of movie studios have done it, so why can't Netflix do it, too?