Not every comic book movie adaptation endures. Even as entertaining as a film might be on the big screen, many of them stay where they are in the collective consciousness as simply a movie. Every once in a while, there are films that extend beyond the movie itself and bleed into reality, like the live-action adaptation of V for Vendetta that premiered in 2005. Arriving fresh off the re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States and amidst the ongoing war in Iraq, V for Vendetta, the film quickly inspired protestors around the globe to pick up and wear a Guy Fawkes mask.
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Speaking with ComicBook for the 20th anniversary of the film’s release, director James McTeigue reflected on the film’s place in history and how it influenced political discourse. Given the nature of the film, both its narrative and when it was released, we asked McTeigue if he ever faced pressure from the studio to soften or remove any of the political elements from the film. Surprisingly, McTeigue confirmed that there wasn’t, except for one scene.
“No, there wasn’t actually, surprisingly, to tell you the truth,” McTeigue revealed. “The only thing… I went into a meeting about the film with the studio heads, all the execs from Warner Bros., and the only thing they asked me to change was they said, ‘Can you take out the Valerie sequence?’ The lesbian sequence. And I said, ‘No, that’s why Evey changes. That is the whole crucible of the movie. And they went, ‘Okay.’ And that was it. Nothing about the politics, actually. Well, I guess that’s political in a way, but nothing about what you would expect the politics to be.”
As fans may recall, the reveal of Valerie Page in the film occurs as Evey herself has been imprisoned, where her discovery of a note from Page ends up being (as McTeigue pointed out) the catalyst for Evey’s own self-discovery and will to not compromise her beliefs (or sell out her friends). In the end, Evey’s captivity is revealed to be a facade by V himself, who she learns was imprisoned with Valerie at the Larkhill Detention Facility and actually knew Valerie. It’s worth noting that in 2005, the conversation around LGBTQ rights in the United States was vastly different, with federal gay marriage not recognized for another decade. This is almost certainly why Warner Bros. wanted the scene cut, but it’s telling that this was the only element they found objectionable, rather than the acts of terrorism committed by the protagonist.
V for Vendetta Director Reveals What a Sequel Should Be
McTeigue went on to note that there was never much talk after the release of the film about some kind of sequel, despite how the genre of comic book adaptations has shifted in Hollywood. That said, the director had an idea for how one could be made now, as legacy sequels continue to be a trend for popular films from yesteryear.
“I kind of think the more interesting thing to do would be to do what One Battle After Another did, which I felt like was taking the Weather Underground, that domestic terrorist group, and seeing what happens 25, 30, 40 years later. I’d be interested to know what did Evey go on to do? What happened to the subsequent governments? Did she go underground? I think there’s a much more interesting story in the Eve character than going back to the graphic novel.”
Despite this, reports have already circulated that Warner Bros. and DC Studios are going back to the well, with a new adaptation of V for Vendetta in the works for HBO. McTeigue confirmed that his knowledge of this new version was announced without him knowing a thing about it, and that neither he nor the Wachowskis are involved in any way with the new series.
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