A look back at all of our past pieces on Y: The Last Man will find a bunch of “It’s back on!!” or “It’s dead!” stories, because adapting Brian K. Vaughan’s classic comic book series has proven difficult. The long wait my finally be over now as Variety reports FX has ordered a pilot episode, with Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049) and Aida Mashaka Croal (Luke Cage) as showrunners. Melina Matsoukas (Master of None) will direct the pilot.
FX got involved in bringing the series to TV back in 2015, with Green coming aboard soon after. Vaughan will stay involved as an exec-producer, as well. Y: The Last Man was published by DC’s Vertigo Comics imprint from 2002-2008, encompassing 60 issues. It centered on amateur magician Yorick Brown, the last surviving male after a global plague wiped out every mammal with a Y chromosome. Along with his pet Capuchin monkey named Ampersand, a mysterious secret agent and a young geneticist, Yorick traverses an unfamiliar world looking for his lost love and answers for why he survived. Vaughn’s comic would skillfully explore politics, sex, and gender issues throughout its run.
Early on it looked like we would get a series of movies directed by DJ Caruso (Back when he was hot shit) and starring Shia LaBeouf (The same), then it was Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) planning a single movie that wouldn’t get off the ground, either. TV is probably the right way to go because Vaughn allowed himself multiple long storyarcs that could only be realized fully in a serialized format. One movie, or even three or four, couldn’t do Y: The Last Man justice. Now let’s hope FX gets this done and that they want to move forward on a season order.
