Timothy Hutton (American Crime) has joined the cast of Y, FX's TV pilot based on the comic book series Y: The Last Man, as the President of the United States. However, given that the show's premise is every mammal with a Y chromosome on the planet (with the exception of protagonist Yorick Brown and his pet monkey, Ampersand) dying simultaneously, it's safe to say that Hutton probably won't stick around if Y is ordered to series.
The news is the latest in a series of casting reveals, with Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk) set to play Yorick, Imogen Poots playing his sister, Hero, Diane Lane playing their mother, Senator Jennifer Brown, and Lashana Lynch playing a lethal spy called Agent 355. We also recently learned that Amber Tamblyn (Two and a Half Men) will be playing the president's daughter, Mariette Callows.
Related: Jodie Foster In Talks To Star in Y: The Last Man
Deadline reports that Hutton will be playing Mariette's father, President Callows. According to Tamblyn's character description, Mariette "has been groomed for a career in politics and to uphold her father’s conservative values." Neither of these characters were featured in the comics, but it seems likely that Tamblyn will play an antagonist role. In the comics, the plague creates a massive power vacuum in the United States government, since it was overwhelmingly run by men. Because the majority of the female representatives who are left behind are Democrats, the widows of the dead Republican men rise up in violent revolt, demanding that they be given their husband's former seats.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man wrapped up its story in 2008, and an adaptation has been in development for years. First there were plans for a movie, with a several different directors (Louis Leterrier, Dan Trachtenberg, and D.J. Caruso) attached at various points, but the movie was eventually confirmed to be dead in 2014. Then, in 2015, we learned that Vaughan was developing a TV adaptation for FX, along with American Crime Story executive producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Michael Green (American Gods) and Aïda Mashaka Croal (Luke Cage) will serve as showrunners on Y.
Hutton will also be seen alongside John Krasinski in Amazon's Jack Ryan TV show, and in Netflix's upcoming adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House. He scored an Oscar nomination for his rolein the film Ordinary People, and an Emmy nomination for his role in American Crime, so he's definitely a worthy addition to the cast - albeit one who won't survive the pilot.
More: FX's Y: The Last Man Cast Revealed; Diane Lane & Barry Keoghan To Star
Source: Deadline