Netflix is adapting My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way’s comic series Umbrella Academy and the latest voice to be cast is none other than R&B legend Mary J. Blige.
Fresh off her Oscar-nominated performance in last year’s Mudbound, Blige has signed onto the show as a series regular. Umbrella Academy follows members of the dysfunctional Hargreeves family of outcast superheroes: the Monocle, Spaceboy, the Kraken, the Rumor, the Séance, Number Five, the Horror and the White Violin. Blige will voice the character of Cha Cha, one half of a pair of time-traveling assassins hellbent on killing The Boy, a fellow time-traveler and member of the Academy.
Cha Cha is a ruthless villain in the Umbrella Academy universe and considers herself to be a “pain artist.” She’s feared throughout and prides herself on caring for no one, except for her partner, Hazel, who currently remains uncast. Blige is be working alongside Ellen Page, who is cast as the most powerful Hargreeves family member, Vanya.
A release date for the 10-episode drama has not been revealed, but it will be exciting to see Blige widen her reach into television. The singer is currently nominated for best supporting actress and best original song at this year’s Oscars.
