Y2K Meaning Explained: What A24's New Movie Title Means (2024)

The new trailer for A24's upcoming disaster comedy Y2K takes viewers back to the turn of the millennium. As one of A24's most anticipated upcoming movies, Y2K appears to take on a similar premise to 2013's This Is The End, which portrayed a fictional depiction of the apocalypse. Y2K marks the feature film directorial debut of former Saturday Night Live cast member Kyle Mooney, whose previous writing credits include Nathan for You and Brigsby Bear.

Y2K is written by Mooney and Evan Winter and is set to be released in theaters on December 6, 2024. The film stars Jaeden Martell of IT and Knives Out acclaim, Rachel Zegler of West Side Story and Snow White fame, and 1990s superstar Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman & Robin, Blast from the Past). Y2K also features several celebrity cameos, such as The Kid Laroi and Fred Durst, the lead singer of the popular 1990s rock band Limp Bizkit. Y2K opened to mixed reviews after its March 2024 premiere at SXSW.

Y2K's Title Refers To The Year 2000 Problem

Y2K was a mythical computer bug that was loosely believed to trigger apocalyptic events

Back in 1999, the term "Y2K" referred to a computer bug that was sensationalized and created a widespread myth that would inspire apocalyptic-like events at the turn of the millennium. Similar to the film's premise, which takes place on the last night of 1999, many people, particularly teens and young adults, anticipated that the "Y2K" computer bug would trigger a series of disastrous events once the clock struck midnight in the year 2000. This mythic rumor was created because early computer programmers often used a two-digit code to represent years, meaning that older systems wouldn't have any way to recognize or compute data after the year 1999.

Nowadays, Y2K more generally refers to the cultural styles and sensibilities of the late 1990s and early 2000s, particularly in the area of fashion. These formerly popular trends have found a new audience thanks to social media outlets such as TikTok, which have inspired a modern Y2K renaissance. The "millennium bug" phenomenon has mostly been disregarded after it was proven to have no merit, so the term "Y2K" became the abbreviation for anything to do with the year 2000 and the culture of that era. For example, boy bands like *NSYNC and movies like 10 Things I Hate About You would belong in the Y2K category.

A24's Y2K Puts A Fictional Spin On The Real Event

Y2K explores the worst-case scenario of the "millennium bug"

Mooney, 39, was in his teens during the Y2K phenomenon, which means that his experience of the cultural event likely fueled the premise of his directorial debut. While the myth of the Y2K bug gained a lot of hype and traction heading into the new millennium, the worst fears of technologies malfunctioning and even turning against humankind obviously did not come to fruition but Mooney's film asks, what if they did? Similar to the doomsday scenario triggered by the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, Y2K offers a playful spin on an otherwise harmless event while also paying homage to the now-iconic trends and styles of the era.

Y2K (2024)

2.0

Comedy

Sci-Fi

On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.

Director

Kyle Mooney

Release Date

March 9, 2024

Writers

Evan Winter

Cast

Rachel Zegler , Alicia Silverstone , Julian Dennison , Jaeden Martell , Eduardo Franco , Mason Gooding , Miles Robbins , Tim Heidecker

Runtime

93 Minutes

Main Genre

Comedy