FX assembles impressive cast for comic book adaptation Y: The Last Man.
FX has revealed the cast for its adaptation of the critically acclaimed DC Comics/Vertigo comic book series, Y: The Last Man.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan (Saga, Paper Girls, Marvel’s The Runaways) with art by Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world in which all mammals with the Y chromosome have been wiped out by a mysterious illness, with only Yorrick and his pet monkey Ampersand the known surviving males.
Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk) will play Yorrick, an underachiever and self-proclaimed “escape artist” whose only goal in a female-dominant world is to find his girlfriend, Beth, played by Juliana Canfield, who is off traversing the Australian outback when the plague hits. Playing his mother, and a member of Congress, is Diane Lane, whommost recently appeared in the DC Universe as Martha Kent. Lashana Lynch takes on the role of Agent 355, a woman tasked with the protection of the last man on Earth. Imogen Poots has been cast as Yorrick’s sister, Hero, and Marin Ireland is Nora, senior assistant and right-hand to the President. Most recently, Amber Tamlyn has joined the series as Mariette Callows, a woman groomed for a career in politics by a conservative father.
After many years in developmental hell, originally intended for the big screen, the series has been in the works at FX for some time and has had an outpouring of casting news over the past few days. Aida Mashaka Croal and Vaughan are co-writing the pilot, with Croal sharing showrunning duties with Michael Green, writer on Blade Runner 2049 and Starz adaptation American Gods. Vaughan himself has history in TV writing, with credits on Lost and Under the Dome to go with his library of critically lauded comics work.
The famed comic book series ran for sixty issues from 2002 to 2008. It’s a progressive, inventive, and a believable exploration of its concept, with the sharp wit and detailed character work that Vaughan is so proficient at. While comics are a natural fit for long-form television storytelling, outside of superheroes there haven’t been many to make the leap successfully.
The more successful examples currently on air include The Walking Dead and, to a lesser extent, Preacher. Both shows air on AMC, and both are subject to hefty criticism at their relative ages (the former heading into its ninth season, the latter in the midst of its third). Despite that, they each have devoted followings. And with Y on the way, as well as others such as SyFy channel’s Image Comics adaptation Deadly Class, there’s endless potential for this sub-section of genre comic adaptations to grow.
Source: The Wrap