'V for Vendetta' Series, Based on the Comics, is in Development at HBO
That Guy Fawkes mask you've seen at protests and Halloween parties? It might be coming back to your TV. HBO and DC Studios are quietly circling a 'V for Vendetta' series, and the timing - politically and culturally - feels very of-the-moment.
Here's the catch: nothing's official yet. But there's enough smoke to pay attention.
Preview
- A 'V for Vendetta' TV series is in the works at HBO.
- It would adapt the Alan Moore (movies and tv series)/David Lloyd (movies and tv series) comic that inspired the 2006 film.
- Pete Jackson (movies and tv series) is writing the initial script (not Peter Jackson (movies and tv series) of 'LOTR').
Variety reports the project is in development with DC Studios bosses James Gunn (movies and tv series) and Peter Safran (movies and tv series) expected to executive produce. DC and HBO aren't commenting, and Gunn hasn't weighed in publicly, so keep your grains of salt within reach.
What's the story again?
'V for Vendetta' started as a comic serial by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd, first published in 1982 and later picked up by DC in 1988. It's set in a near-future Britain under the boot of the Norsefire party - a fascist state that runs on fear, surveillance, and silence.
Our guide through that world is V, an anarchist in a Guy Fawkes mask, who sets out to crack the system with the help of Evey Hammond, a young woman he rescues from the secret police. It's a story about power, propaganda, and the cost of pushing back.
How the 2006 film fits in
Warner Bros. adapted the comic in 2006 with Hugo Weaving as V and Natalie Portman (movies and tv series) as Evey. The Wachowskis wrote the screenplay; James McTeigue (movies and tv series) directed after working with them on 'The Matrix.'
The film sharpened the story's focus on media control and authoritarian messaging. That "People should not be afraid of their governments…" line? It stuck because it felt uncomfortably close to real life then - and, honestly, still does.
Who's making the new series?
Pete Jackson - the UK writer behind 2022's 'Somewhere Boy' - is on script duty. And just to be crystal clear, this isn't Lord of the Rings' Peter Jackson. Different person, different hemisphere.
Jackson also wrote the upcoming series 'The Death of Bunny Munro' starring Matt Smith (movies and tv series), based on Nick Cave (movies and tv series)'s book. If HBO moves forward here, expect a tone that leans character-first and quietly unsettling rather than splashy.
When could we see it?
Even if the green light comes soon, don't expect this before 2027. Scripts, casting, production - it all takes time, especially for a show that will live or die on its mood and world-building.
And it's HBO. They'd rather wait than rush something that needs room to breathe.
Why this matters right now
Stories about state control and resistance hit differently when headlines feel tense. Maybe it's just timing, but a new 'V' series would land in a moment where people are already asking hard questions about truth, fear, and who gets to hold the mic.
Here's what this could mean: if HBO goes for it, we're likely getting a grounded, serialized take that (movies and tv series) digs into propaganda, identity, and personal cost - the kind of stuff weekly TV can explore in ways a two-hour film can't. If they don't, the interest alone says plenty about what audiences are thinking about.
Movies and TV adapted from Alan Moore's work
- From Hell (2001)
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
- V for Vendetta (2006)
- Watchmen (2009)
- Watchmen (2019)
We'll update as the project firms up. For now, file this under "promising - but waiting on an actual yes."
