Adam Baldwin joins cast of post-apocalyptic pilot The Last Ship

Now hear this!  Perennial fan favorite Adam Baldwin (the oh-so-cunning Jayne Cobb in Firefly and hard-hitting John Casey in NBC's Chuck) has signed on for a key role in the post-apocalyptic naval thriller The Last Ship, a pilot executive produced by Michael Bay for the TNT network, according to Deadline.

Based on the 1989 novel by William Brinkley, the story centers on a navy destroyer that survives a catastrophe that decimates most of the world's population.  The novel placed this crew in a post-nuclear setting, but it appears the modern series adaptation is going for a pandemic as its Big Death (with what sounds like a mix of eco-disaster).

Set to be directed by Jonathan Mostow (U-571, Terminator 3, Surrogates) and written by Hank Steinberg (Without a Trace, The Nine) and Steven Kane (The Closer), the pilot had cast Titus Welliver (Lost's "Man in Black" and the man tapped to play Triphammer in the FX adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis' Powers comic) in the role of Mike Slattery, second-in-command aboard the USS Nathan James.  Welliver had to step back due to a sudden family medical emergency, and Adam Baldwin has been signed to take over the part.

While still in the pilot stage and not picked up as a series yet, the presence of Michael Bay seems a strong indicator that we'll be seeing this ship sail to TNT.  It has everything we love to hear - humanity nearly lost, a struggling remnant in search of survival and a new place to call home, and the basic questions of whether mankind will pull together to save the species or destroy itself fully as it descends into power struggles and barbarism.  It's part military action thriller, part post-apocalyptic cautionary tale.  And as we're huge fans of both end-of-the-world scenarios AND Adam Baldwin, you can be sure we'll be keeping an eye on this one.