Elliot Page Will Continue to Star in ‘Umbrella Academy,’ Netflix Changes Credits on His Past Films

Courtesy of Kalohoridis/Netflix

Elliot Page will continue to play the role of Vanya Hargreeves in “The Umbrella Academy,” the Netflix series about a family of superheroes that’s become one of the streaming service’s biggest hits.

Vanya is a cisgender woman whose superpower involves unleashing force through the use of sound. There are no plans to change the character’s gender, insiders told Variety.

Page, star of films such as “Juno” and the X-Men series, announced he is a gender non-binary transgender person in a heartfelt social media message on Tuesday. Page’s credited name has already been updated on “The Umbrella Academy’s” IMDB page.

Netflix is also in the process of updating Page’s name in the metadata across all titles he is involved with that are available to watch on the streaming service, another insider said. Those changes should start to be reflected throughout Tuesday.

The bulk of the social media reaction to Page’s announcement was positive, with stars such as Miley Cyrus and Kate Mara signaling their support. However, some commentators suggested that the role of Vanya Hargreeves should be recast. The character’s name trended on Twitter below #Elliot.

Popular on Variety GLAAD, the LGBTQ advocacy group, pushed back at the notion that Vanya should be recast with a cisgender female actor.

“Trans actors can and do play both trans and cisgender characters. I’m sure Elliot will continue to be brilliant in Umbrella Academy and many different types of roles in the future,” Nick Adams, director of transgender media at GLAAD, told Variety.

“The Umbrella Academy” centers on group of adopted sibling superheroes who team up to solve the mystery of their father’s death while warding off a potential apocalypse. The series ended its second season in July. In November, Netflix renewed “The Umbrella Academy” for a third Season