To anybody who spends any real time surfing the Internet for movie-related news, it seems like 80 percent of all film development gossip wears tights and beats up on super villains.
With comic book-related films still as popular as ever, its not surprising that movie geeks (such as myself) fixate over every little tidbit or rumor that is leaked about any and every upcoming crime fighter film — from Superman to Buck Rogers.
Well, Latino Review is reporting news on a comic book adaption that has been stuck in development hell for far too long — and trust me when I say this news is better then any combination of Christopher Nolan’s name and a random caped crusader.
According to Latino Review, Louis Leterrier is currently sniffing around Y: The Last Man. Y, a comic book written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by a team of talent artists led by Pia Guerra, is hands down one of the smartest, most engaging pieces of literature to be dropped on the laps of unsuspecting audiences in the last ten years.
The story of a would-be magician named Yorick Brown and a mischievous Capuchin monkey named Ampersand who happen to be the last surviving male animals after a mysterious force kills everything with a Y chromosome.
The series told a complete story over the course of 60 issues — and is highly recommended to every single literate person around.
Originally brought to New Line Cinema as a project by David Goyer, the series has transferred hands a few times over the last few years — most recently as an almost done-deal to be directed by D.J. Caruso and star Shia LaBeouf.
In the wake of Transformers 2, though, Shia claimed to no longer be interested in the film and D.J. currently has a ton of other projects on his plate — making it seem as if Y would be thrust back into limbo.
Now, with Leterrier potentially interested in the project, audiences might finally be treated to a big screen version of an amazing comic book.
The Buzz: This news is not without its caveats. Leterrier, while having directed a few entertaining films, has not yet shown himself to be a filmmaker I would consider as a first-choice for a Y: The Last Man film. Leterrier also has a habit of tossing his name around projects just to see if its sticks. Just recently he mentioned that he would love to direct the Avengers film, a movie that would team-up Marvel Comic’s most popular heroes.
On the other hand, I can’t help but rejoice that somebody with some potential pull is interested in the project. If Clash of the Titans is a success this weekend, there is a real possibility New Line might come to Leterrier — checkbook in hand — wanting to talk all-things Yorick Brown.
If push came to shove, I think I could live with a Leterrier-directed Y film — especially if they use Brian K. Vaughan’s script. Vaughan, adapting his own book, managed to boil his complete story down into a workable self-contained film.
I can only hope that a year from now, instead of the latest rumor about who will and will not be playing a Batman villain, I’ll finally be hearing news from the set of Y: The Last Man.
Sound off: Who would you like to star in Y: The Last Man? Personally, my pick for Yorick is Zachary Levi — with Tracie Thoms as Agent 355 and Lucy Liu as Doctor Allison Mann.
