HBO is developing a television adaptation of V for Vendetta, the seminal comic by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Sources say Pete Jackson is on board to write, with DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran among the executive producers. Ben Stephenson will also executive produce through Poison Pen, joined by Leanne Klein of Wall to Wall Media in the United Kingdom. Warner Bros. Television is the studio behind the project. HBO and DC Studios declined to comment.
The creative pairing makes sense for HBO. The network has a strong track record with prestige comic adaptations, most notably Watchmen, and it continues to partner with DC Studios on live action projects. The Penguin drew awards attention this year, and Lanterns is widely expected to arrive in early twenty twenty six. A grounded, politically charged thriller like V for Vendetta fits that slate while adding a different flavor to DC’s portfolio.
Jackson’s hiring hints at a character first approach. His Channel 4 drama Somewhere Boy steered into intimate perspectives and earned significant critical notice, including a BAFTA nomination for writing. He also adapted Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro for Sky Atlantic, which debuts this month. That background suggests a V that leans on interiority and societal pressure rather than spectacle alone.
For viewers new to the source material, V for Vendetta is set in a near future Britain ruled by a fascist party. A masked anarchist known only as V wages a campaign to dismantle the regime and recruits Evey Hammond after rescuing her from secret police. The story’s iconography, especially the Guy Fawkes mask, traveled well beyond the page and became a modern protest symbol.
The property has already proved itself on screen. The two thousand five feature from director James McTeigue, with a screenplay by the Wachowskis, starred Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman and earned strong critical response. The film’s legacy remains durable enough that Warner Bros. is returning it to theaters in November two thousand twenty six for its twentieth anniversary.
There have been attempts to bring V to television before. Channel 4 explored a series several years ago that did not move forward. The Batman prequel Pennyworth even gestured toward that continuity in later seasons, though it ended before those threads could fully connect. HBO’s involvement signals the most serious push yet at a long form take.
Key questions now center on scope and timeline. Will the series retell the original plot in one season, or build a continuing drama in the same world. Will it pursue a period setting or transplant the story to a contemporary near future. Casting will be closely watched, particularly for V and Evey, since those performances will dictate the show’s tone as much as the script.
There is no release window yet. For now, the combination of HBO, DC Studios, and a writer with a reputation for character driven drama makes this a project to track. If it sticks the landing, V for Vendetta could join Watchmen and The Penguin as another example of how comics can fuel prestige television without losing their edge.
Sources: https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/v-for-vendetta-tv-series-hbo-1236572917/
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