It’s been a long and bumpy road, but an adaptation of Y: The Last Man, the acclaimed comic by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, is finally heading toward television.
Deadline reports FX has ordered a pilot written by Michael Green (American Gods, Blade Runner 2049), who will serve as showrunner with Aida Mashaka Croal (Luke Cage, Turn).
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Debuting in 2002 from DC’s Vertigo imprint, the post-apocalyptic comic follows Yorick Brown, an amateur escape artist who, with his pet Capuchin monkey Ampersand, is the last survivor of a mysterious plague that killed every other male mammal on Earth. The two set off on a globe-spanning journey to reunite with Yorick’s girlfriend, discover what wiped out the world’s Y chromosomes and find out why they survived.
New Line Cinema acquired the film rights to Y; The Last Man in 2007, with D.J. Caruso “loosely attached” until he exited the project following a disagreement about format; he envisioned a trilogy, while the studio wanted a single film. The adaptation was revived by New Line in 2012, when it was considered a priority for the studio, but the film rights reverted to Vaughan and Guerra in 2014.
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The following year, FX announced plans to develop Y for television, with Green hired as showrunner. However, he was also committed to oversee Starz’s American Gods with Bryan Fuller, at least until the duo exited the project in November 2017 following Season 1. With Green available once again, FX CEO John Landgraf expressed confidence earlier this year that there would be movement on the project.
Melina Matsoukas (Insecure) will direct the pilot and executive produce with Green and Croal, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force, and Vaughan.