After Elliot Page announced in a public statement earlier this week that he’s a trans man, Netflix confirmed that he’ll continue playing Vanya Hargreeves, a cis woman, on The Umbrella Academy. In other circumstances, an actor continuing a role they originated is not news, but because trans people are still not understood by many, viewers have been confused by the logistics of a man portraying a woman.
As The Daily Mail reports, some were unsure of the situation and requested clarification from those who understood it better, as you can see below:
Do we still call her Vanya?
— Baby Monster (@MattPhi09879748) December 1, 2020
honest q, do you folks know if his character will change as well?
— mike posie (@posie_dbd) December 1, 2020
Others, meanwhile, took the opportunity to let their transphobia show, whether malicious or not.
https://twitter.com/FreezinPure/status/1333954872039911426
I guess we forgot about the “actors should only play characters of their sexuality, race, etc.
— Jacob (@ImJacobCrabtree) December 2, 2020
https://twitter.com/Chr1sMcLaughlin/status/1333903349209559042
https://twitter.com/Chr1sMcLaughlin/status/1333913144847192064
Of course, the straightforward explanation to this is that Vanya is a cis woman and Page was cast as the character when he still presented as female. To recast the role would be unnecessary as there’s simply no reason to assume that people’s altered perception of him makes him suddenly incapable of convincing in the part that he’s been already playing for two years.
In other words, Elliot Page will return as Vanya in The Umbrella Academy, and if viewers have a problem with it, they need to either address their preconceived notions or stop watching. As for what we’ll see from the aforementioned character in the hit show’s next run, that we don’t yet know.
After all, season 3 is only set to enter production in early 2021 and even before the actor’s announcement, plot details were scarce. But it’ll certainly be interesting to watch how Vanya’s arc unfolds from here and we look forward to seeing more from Page both in the Netflix series and whatever else he decides to do in his career in the future.
