'Y The Last Man' TV Series Suffers Another Setback, Loses Lead Actor Barry Keoghan

The Y: The Last Man TV series has hit yet another roadblock, and at this point, it might be a good idea to give up on the entire idea. FX has been trying to get the series off the ground for years, and things seemed to be moving forward finally, with Dunkirk actor Barry Keoghan in the lead. But now that's all changed – Keoghan is out, and the lead character will be recast.Collider is reporting that Barry Keoghan is no longer set to lead the Y: The Last Man TV series. Keoghan was originally set to play Yorick Brown, the last male left on a planet where an event simultaneously kills-off all living mammals with a Y chromosome – including embryos and sperm. Collider doesn't list a reason as to why Keoghan is no longer involved, but the bottom line is that the show now needs a new lead.

Other cast members include Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Amber Tamblyn, and Timothy Hutton, and they're all reportedly still on board. FX has been developing a show based on  Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's comic book series since at least 2015. The project kicked around a bit, with Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal set as co-showrunners.

But by April of last year, Green and Croal exited the project, with Eliza Clark taking over showrunner duties in summer of 2019. Principal photography for the series started back in 2018, so FX has been actively working on this thing for some time – but now the status of the show is up in the air as they search for their new Yorick.

Y: The Last Man was published from 2002 through 2008 by Vertigo, and has amassed a huge following, and Hollywood has been attempting to adapt the comic in some form for years. Before it ended up on TV,  D.J. Caruso was going to direct a film adaptation starring Shia LaBeouf, but it never happened, reportedly because studio Lionsgate wanted a single standalone film but Caruso wanted a three-film series.

The TV series, which is using the title Y, was originally set to debut this year, but now it's unclear if that's still going to happen.