Portal short director Dan Trachtenberg will take on Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man

During one of my first semesters of college, I had a pretty long break between my last two classes. So what did I decide to do in that time? Go to the local bookstore and read all of Watchmen and a great deal of Y: The Last Man.

Unfortunately I did not get to complete the Y: THE LAST MAN in that sitting, but it was compelling enough for me to get that storylust that I occasionally come down with after reading something truly worthwhile. The tales author, Brian K. Vaughan already had me with his run on The Runaways. Trust me, I was insanely disappointed when I found out he was parting ways with the graphic novel. Then again, there would always been something else of Vaughan’s to catch up on.

For those who haven’t read the comic, it centers on Yorrick Brown, “the only human survivor of a planet-wide plague that instantly kills every mammal possessing a Y chromosome. Accompanied by a mysterious government agent, a brilliant young geneticist and his pet monkey, Ampersand, Yorick travels the world in search of his lost love and the answer to why he’s the last man on earth.”

While everyone was picking up the Marvel and DC storylines, New Line decided that Y: THE LAST MAN was worth bringing to the big screen. It has had a tumultuous time getting there, however. It’s been on the map since, well long before I ever started here at JoBlo.com. The project was tossed around to different directions including Louis Leterrier. Shia LaBeouf was attached at one point to play the leading role of Yorrick, but I guess he wasn’t thrilled about the material. Earlier last year it was revealed that Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia would be the guys to write the script. Now it looks like this thing finally has an official director.

Dan Trachtenberg will be the guy to helm the adaptation. That name may not click, but if I show you this live-action Portal short he did, then you may make a connection. Other than this, Trachtenberg’s background is mainly in commercials.

I’m glad that this thing is moving along finally, though I’d rather see it in TV format rather than all clumped together in one big movie.