We now have a cast for the long-awaited adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man. For those unfamiliar with the comic, it follows Yorick Brown and his monkey Ampersand, the last two remaining males after a plague wipes out every animal with a Y chromosome. It’s a brilliant series, and it’s definitely one that would work much better as a TV series than a movie as Yorick, along with Culper Ring agent 355 and scientist Dr. Mann try to find a way to save the rest of humanity.

We now have the casting for the major roles for the FX series, which will simply be called Y, and surprisingly, the role of Yorick has gone to Barry Keoghan. Keoghan is on the verge of becoming a breakout star, but he’s a surprising choice for Yorick with his two biggest roles to date being humble George from Dunkirk and the super creepy Martin in The Killing of a Sacred Deer. In the books, Yorick handles a lot with humor, so it will be interesting to see Keoghan tackle this kind of role.

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Image via A24

Diane Lane has been cast as Yorick’s mother, Senator Jennifer Brown, “A Junior Senator in her first term, Senator Brown has already made a name for herself in political circles for her willingness to put personal ideals above politics.”

Imogen Poots will play Yorick’s sister, Hero Brown, an EMT who eventually joins up with the apocalypse cult of the Amazons before going down her own path. It’s a great character, and I’m eager to see what Poots does with it.

Another rich character is 355, who will be played by Lashana Lynch, “a Secret Service agent who performs the duties of her job with the utmost professionalism, even under the most unexpected set of circumstances.” 355 kicks so much ass in the books, and I hope that carries over to the show.

Juliana Canfield will play Beth, Yorick’s girlfriend and the person he starts searching for once the apocalypse happens. Like Hero, she’s got a really interesting trajectory in the comics and one that doesn’t go where you’d expect.

Finally, Marin Ireland has been cast as Nora, “the President’s senior assistant and right hand. She effortlessly balances family life with a job navigating the corridors of power.”

The big character missing here is Dr. Allison Mann, who, along with Yorick and 355, comprises the trio that leads the books. Hopefully that character will be included at some point because she’s so vital to why the story works and to the origins of the apocalypse

It’s unknown if FX will pick up Y to series, but this is a promising start. Michael Green (Logan) and Aïda Mashaka Croal (Turn) serve as Showrunners and Executive Producers.

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Image via Vertigo
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Image via Vertigo

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