It looked like the latest in a long line of attempts to adapt Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra‘s classic comic Y: The Last Man, a TV series set up at FX which is going by the title Y, was going to be the one to finally break free and become a reality. And it still might, when all is said and done. But another speedbump has been hit, and it’s a fairly significant one.

After years of working on the show, which FX ordered to series back in February, showrunners Michael Green (American Gods, Logan) and Aïda Mashaka Croal (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones) have announced that they are departing the project.

Croal shared the joint statement from she and Green on her Twitter account. It reads:

Sad new for fans of Y: THE LAST MAN today. FX has decided not to move forward with our series in its current form.

We are grateful for everyone who came together to make our pilot and build the world of Y… Our writing staff, director Melina Matsoukas, DP Rodrigo Prieto, and cast including Lashana Lynch, Barry Keoghan, Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Amber Tamblyn, Juliana Canfield… And of course, the minds who started it all, Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra.

We hoped to reward their talent and their trust not just with success but with a show that had something to say, in a time when things must be said. As Y fans ourselves, we hope the future allows just that.

Aïda Mashaka Croal & Michael Green

The part about FX deciding not to move forward with the series “in its current form” is interesting, and perhaps a little concerning. A cast has already been assembled and a pilot episode has already been filmed, things that gave FX the confidence to order Y to series. So a breakup with their showrunners at this stage in the game brings up a lot of questions. One also can’t help but wonder if Disney’s acquisition of Fox being finalized recently had anything to do with it.

As The Hollywood Reporter confirms, FX is indeed still planning on moving forward with the series despite losing its showrunners. In whatever form is more suitable to what they want the show to be. The cast is remaining the same, and they’re now looking for a replacement showrunner or showrunners.

After years of attempts to turn Y: The Last Man into a movie, the rights ended up coming back to Brian K. Vaughan. In a 2017 interview with THR, he talked about looking for “someone who loved the source material but didn’t feel so indebted to it that they would be afraid to change it.” Green was that person. Vaughan described his pitch as “really brave and very different, but exciting as well.” So I would be very interested in seeing what Vaughan’s reaction to all of this is. It can’t be easy trusting someone with one of your creations and seeing something like this happen.

For Green, this is just another frustrating day at the office. A few days after Vaughan talked about the project and Green’s pitch back in 2017, it was revealed that Green and Bryan Fuller were departing the Starz series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods following that show’s debut season.

[Source: Live Feed]

Follow me on Twitter.