Y: The Last Man was a sixty issue series from DC-Vertigo, created by Brian Vaughan and Pia Guerra. It tells the story of a world where every last male on the planet died simultaneously, with the exception of twenty-two year old Brooklynite Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand.
The idea might seem titillating to some; a world of lonely women and you’re the only one who could satisfy them. Others might envision a society that is somewhat regressive but nevertheless a utopia devoid of strife and conflict. Both suppositions would be wrong, as we see the world through Yorick and realize that women can be just as vicious, petty and treacherous as men, and Yorick is far from a sleazy lothario.
The series follows Yorick as he hits the road in the company of a secret agent and a geneticist, exploring the unmanned world and searching for a cure, for Yorick’s lover Beth, and for an answer to the titular question; why is Yorick the last man on earth?
Y has it all; witty dialogue, pirates, moments of supreme badassery, ninjas, lesbians, a firefight between Democrats and Republicans, S&M and Russians. And a monkey. So there's no wonder it’s being adapted to the big screen. New Line Cinema will be distributing with DJ Caruso tentatively attached to direct, Shia LeBeouf was previously attached to star but has since opted to drop out since he found the character too similar to his character from the Transformers series, which I admit I was chuffed to hear. News since then has been sparse, but as we wait anxiously, here’s another fan-cast.
Yorick Brown
An unemployed English major/escape artist found himself the last man on earth just as he was about to propose to his long-distance girlfriend Beth over the phone. The series follows his travels in the unmanned world.
Yorick is an almost complete aversion of archetypical male survivor characteristics. He’s pretty low on the list of men you’d wish were the last to survive, being immature (though kind-hearted), nerdy and decidedly un-macho. A loveable nerd, is what he is, yet checking out what others have to see across the vast gulf of the web, names like Dominic West, Robert Pattinson, Michael C. Hall and (as always) Johnny Depp come up with bewildering regularity. Both James’ could play Yorick, perhaps more so in Bell’s case, who is also much closer age-wise.
Agent 355
Secret agent of the once-though defunct spy-ring known as the Culper Ring. Three-Fifty becomes both Yorick and Dr. Mann’s protector on during their travels.
Sohn and Torres are both terrific actresses known for their portrayal of strong black women on acclaimed television shows. Torres as rebel soldier turned smuggler Zoe Washburn on Firefly and Sohn as narcotics cop Shakima Greggs on The Wire. Either would suffice, thought Gina Torres has the more suitably formidable physique.
Dr. Allison Mann
A Sino-Japanese-American geneticist who at the start of the story has managed to clone herself. Sort of. The government dispatches 355 at the start of the story to retrieve her and aid her in her cloning research, which stands as the only hope of continuing the species.
I am aware that Sandra Oh isn’t a match ethnicity-wise, as well as already being known for playing a very Mann-like character, but changing her character to have Korean heritage shouldn’t have too profound an impact on the story.
Rose Copen
A lieutenant in the Australian Navy who joins the main trio mid-series and engages in a romance with Dr. Mann.
Hero Brown
Yorick’s emotionally unhinged older sister. Following the plague, Hero became a member of the extremist group known as the Daughters of the Amazon.
Alter Tse'elon
An Israeli Defense Force Lieutenant General following the plague. She becomes obsessed with capturing Yorick when she learns of his existence.
Beth Deville
Yorick’s girlfriend, an anthropology student based in Australia. Yorick spends the series trying to find her.
Other Beth
A former flight attendant Yorick meets holed up in an abandoned church. She eventually comes to befriend Hero as well.
Jennifer Brown
Yorick and Hero’s mother. A congresswoman prior to the plague, she becomes Secretary of the Interior following it.
Dr. Ciba Weber
A NASA Astronaut who was stuck in the International Space Station for a year with the last two men in space.
Victoria
Self-proclaimed world’s greatest chess player who started the daughters of the Amazon after the plague, an extremist group of man-hating women who wanted to eradicate any remnants of male-influence from society.
President Margaret Valentine
The secretary of agriculture found herself as the highest ranking cabinet member after the plague, thus ascending to the presidency.
Natalya Zamyatin
A decorated Russian soldier sent to the US to retrieve the last living male Russian, a cosmonaut due to crash somewhere in Kansas.
Waverly
A supermodel before the plague, she found herself irrelevant in a world without men and took to making a living clearing away rotting corpses.
Ampersand
For god’s sake, let us have none of that CG-mucky muck, and use an actual monkey for Amp!
Stay tuned for further fan-casts of The Punisher MAX, Sgt. Rock and Others!!!