Celebrate and/or worry, as it looks like there is finally some more forward movement on New Line Cinema’s long-awaited adaptation of Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man. Deadline are today reporting that Dan Trachtenberg has been hired as the director for the film.

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With the screenplay attributed to Matthew Federman & Stephen Scaia, and David Goyer producing, the film looks to take the 60-issue Vertigo series and somehow fit it into a movie. Y: The Last Man is one of the most critically acclaimed Vertigo series of recent years, with a notable editing staff. It was also the subject of my masters thesis, weirdly enough.

Whether this is planned as a series of films or a one-off, who can tell – but it’ll be interesting to see if a Hollywood film actually dares tell a story with only one male character in it.  And of course, there are plenty of great female roles up for grabs. Monkey wranglers across the United States: start preparing.

This will be Trachtenberg first feature film – his background is in commercials, and he has also worked on a number of other digital projects including short videos, games, and web television. He’s an interesting choice as director, and it’d be great if we could see him go from internet shorts to widescreen acclaim.

And he also looks like he should be playing Yorick, actually.

9 COMMENTS

  1. I think the money men who buy the rights to these series (especially Vertigo stuff) are missing the boat big time when they want to make a film or possibly a trilogy.

    Y the Last Man….100 Bullets….Preacher….Scalped….etc….they all need to be television productions spread out over multiple seasons and produced by the type of men and women who make The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, the Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, etc.

    Just how much of the “Y” story can be told in one film? Or even 3 films?

    Preacher last (I believe, off the top of my head) 66 issues….thats five 13 episode seasons with one final two hour episode to cap it all off.

    100 Bullets…..100 episodes….use the comics as the basis for the script and follow it faithfully but with intelligence – some things translate to screen better than others when it comes to comics…so be smart.

    Y was around 60 issues as well if I am not mistaken. How about a solid 5 year commitment from a great show runner like a Gilligan from Breaking Bad or someone like that…Look at the Walking Dead….its the best example…these guys are so hung up on making a movie that they miss the obvious….we are in a golden age of spectacularly written television and these Vertigo books are just ripe for HBO, AMC, FX, Showtime, etc. Give the fans what they want…not what you think they want.
    Y the Last Man would be just another movie that might draw as well as Watchmen (and like it or not, Watchmen was not that succesful of a film). Y the last man as a well written, well paced TV show like Walking Dead…..FRIED GOLD WRAPPED IN BACON, BABY!!!
    I would prefer Preacher or 100 Bullets…but Y would be a welcome pleasure as well if done right….and to do it right means mulitple episodes…not a couple of movies.

  2. agree that that Y and the vertigo series would be AWESOME as multiple season premium or basic cable tv series. i think youre setting the bar a little high with the sopranos, wire and breaking bad as examples. those writers and producers will want to produce their own material. not that they are too good to adapt comic books, but its like asking jk rowling or stephen king to start writing monthly for the avengers or batman. AWESOME idea, just not feasible.

    walking dead would be the model to use except that show depends on the zombie hook. game of thrones is probably the best example to follow. doable, but given that GoT is a one of a kind tv show it will likley prove difficult to replicate.

  3. Jaroslav,

    I’m sorry…I wasn’t clear in what I meant…I didn’t actually mean the show runners from the Sopranos should do it, or anyone from the Wire or whatever, I just meant they should be run like that….very serious, very driven. Storytelling with a purpose. It should be done by people who want to tell a great story over a longer period of time….hell…it can be you and me if we can get the money together….(wink wink)….

  4. TW – gotcha. yeah i just had visions of david simon producing 100 bullets or david milch creating a scapled series and i got so excited i had to reality check myself.

    but we’re on the same page with how those vertigo series SHOULD be produced. and its probably possible. im hoping for it as much as you are.

  5. Yeah. I concur that people, both fans and those running things in Hollywood, miss the whole concept of most comic books. Unless we’re talking a finite graphic novel or mini series, movies are not the live action format. The serial nature of comics fit a television series much better.

    The only reason movies come to mind is because they have larger budgets and most comics, not even just cape ones, have a bigger scope than that most televisions shows can afford.

    Now Y The Last Man has a post apocalypse scenario. Even with budget cuts, The Walking Dead has shown that a cable television show can pull that off.

    Though, eh, maybe a series of movies covering the major plots can work. I hope we don’t get another Watchmen scenario. Even those twelve comic book issues could not fit well into a two or even three hour film. Then again one dense Alan Moore issue is maybe like five issues of another comic.

  6. Steve – I *fully* appreciate that sentiment. :)

    Well, if you ever change your mind or want notes, it’s a topic I’m very interested in. I’m one of those nuts that lives and breathes secondary literature on pop culture. I even provided notes for Serenity Found! :D

    Renee

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