HBO is looking to recapture the critical success of adapting Watchmen into serial form by adapting another Alan Moore comic, V for Vendetta, into a streaming series. V for Vendetta was written by Alan Moore, with art by David Lloyd and Tony Weare, and published between 1982 and 1985. The story depicts a dystopian and post-apocalyptic near-future version of the United Kingdom where the world was devastated by a nuclear war in the 1980s, leading to a rise in authoritarianism, with London being run as a fascist police state, leading to the rise of an anarchist vigilante, V, known for his signature Guy Fawkes mask and his protégée, Evey Hammond.
Variety reports that HBO and Warner Bros. Television are developing a V for Vendetta series. Pete Jackson, best known for the Hulu series Somewhere Boy, is reportedly set to write the series, with James Gunn and Peter Safran signed on as executive producers through DC Studios. Poison Pen’s Ben Stephenson and Leanne Klein of Wall to Wall Media, which is part of Warner Bros. Television Studios UK, are also signed on as executive producers. Neither Jackson nor Warner Bros. has given any official confirmation to Variety‘s report.
Will ‘V for Vendetta’ Follow the Path Set By HBO’s ‘Watchmen?’
V for Vendetta is certainly having a moment, as it was recently announced that Fathom Entertainment will hold a special 20th-anniversary screening of the film on November 1 and 5 in 2026. However, one person who is not a fan of the 2006 film and is unlikely to be a fan of the television series is V for Vendetta creator Alan Moore. Moore has distanced himself from all film and television adaptations of his comics and has requested his name be removed from all adaptations, with the sole exception being the Justice League Unlimited episode “For the Man Who Has Everything,” which adapts his storyline from “Superman Annual” #11 and is the only adaptation of his work on which he allowed his name to appear. Moore has been particularly critical of DC Comics, the rights owners of V for Vendetta and Watchmen.
This won’t be the first time V for Vendetta has been adapted for television. In the often-forgotten DC series Pennyworth, which followed the adventures of a young Alfred Pennyworth, was turned into something of a V for Vendetta prequel in its second season. Pennyworth Season 2 featured a British Civil War leading to the formation of the Norsefire government of V for Vendetta and Season 3 featured characters wearing the Guy Fawkes mask as precursor to V. This is all the stranger when considering that Pennyworth is also a prequel to Gotham, so in this small pocket of the DC Universe Pennyworth, Gotham, and the Batman supporting character exist alongside V for Vendetta.
Even though James Gunn and Peter Safran are signed on as producers for DC Studios, don’t expect V for Vendetta to be canon in the DCU. Gunn has spoken about how they will continue to develop Elseworlds projects, including upcoming animated series such as Starfire and My Adventures with Green Lantern. What is unclear is whether V for Vendetta will be another adaptation of the comic or follow the HBO Watchmen formula, telling an original story set after the events of the graphic novel. V for Vendetta ends with plenty of plotlines a series could pick up on. The series is in early stages of development, so time will tell, but given the popularity of V for Vendetta, it is likely HBO will make sure this series passes the finish line.
- Release Date
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March 17, 2006
- Runtime
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132 minutes