Update 1/12/17: Today at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, FX’s President of Original Programming Nick Grad shared some updates on their Y: The Last Man series. Showrunner Michael Green and comics creator Brian K. Vaughn are currently working on a script for the project, which should be finished in “the next couple of months.” Grad also revealed that unlike some of their popular limited series like American Horror Story, Fargo, and the recent awards darling American Crime Story, Y: The Last Man will be an ongoing series.
Stay tuned for more updates from the TCAs, and make sure you follow Nerdist Managing Editor and resident TV obsessive Alicia Lutes on Twitter for updates on all your favorite shows.
Update 11/14/16: After months of mystery, the Y: The Last Man television series has landed a showrunner: Michael Green! Green is actually one of the perfect people to help adapt this iconic graphic novel, as he is currently co-showrunning another beloved adaptation, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (along with Hannibal‘s Bryan Fuller). The Hollywood Reporter reports that Green will co-write the script with the creator of the original comic, Brian K. Vaughn.
More in our original story below:
It’s finally happening. Brian K. Vaughan’s seminal comic book series Y: The Last Man is coming to television. Cue the dancehall horn.
On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Brian K. Vaughan’s dystopian comic book is being developed for the small screen at FX. In addition to Vaughan, FX has enlisted Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson to help develop the series. Though Dan Trachtenberg was previously attached to direct a film adaptation in 2013, no director or writer is attached to the project at this time.
Any comic book fan worth his or her salt will tell you that this has been a long time coming. Not only is Y: The Last Man critically acclaimed, but it is, perhaps, my favorite comic book series ever — period. The 60-issue series from writer Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra was published through DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint and follows the story of Yorick Brown — the last human being on Earth with a Y chromosome — and his trusty Capuchin monkey Ampersand as they try to unravel the mystery behind a strange plague that eradicated all the world’s male chromosomes, seemingly overnight.
Alas, poor Yorick Brown has long received the short end of the proverbial stick when it comes to making the leap from page to screen. In 2007, New Line acquired the film rights to the series, with David Goyer, Carl Ellsworth, and director D.J. Caruso set to adapt the property. However, Caruso left the project when New Line balked on turning the sprawling sci-fi story into a three-picture franchise, instead demanding a two-hour standalone film.
In March 2012, the film version of Y: The Last Man showed signs of life as Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia entered negotiations to tackle the comic adaptation alongside producers J.C. Spink, Chris Bender, and David Goyer. As mentioned previously, the project even had Dan Trachtenberg attached to direct, but it ultimately stalled out and the rights reverted back to Vaughan in 2014.
“We wanted to tell a complete story … but not the whole story,” said Vaughan in a statement after the film’s death. He wished that “in success, we could get to tell the rest of our serialized adventure.” With the advent of this FX development deal, it loos like Vaughan’s wishes may be coming true.
But why is this a big deal? What could a Y: The Last Man TV series look like? What is a Capuchin anyway? Join your intrepid Nerdist News host Jessica Chobot as she explains what you need to know about Y: The Last Man and its upcoming TV adaptation.
That’s all for today’s show! Find out everything you need to know about The Walking Dead‘s forthcoming big bad, Negan, on a new episode of The Dan Cave. Then let us know your thoughts on Y: The Last Man TV in the comments below. Who should play Yorick? My vote is for Andrew Garfield or Patrick Fuguit. Let us know yours.
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
