Even before DC Studios had launched as a new cinematic universe for fans, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned HBO had been bringing characters from their comics to life. Shows like Titans, Doom Patrol, and Pennyworth may have started at different places, but they all wrapped up (and can currently be watched) on HBO Max. Beyond those, there are hits like Watchmen, a proper HBO production from the start, along with last year’s hit The Batman spinoff, The Penguin. The DCU has also spilled onto HBO, with Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and the upcoming Lanterns all calling the premium cable network home.
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Now, HBO is moving into even more exciting DC territory, developing a series that is not connected to the DCU but is still an adaptation of a beloved comic book. Variety brings word that a brand new V for Vendetta TV series is happening at HBO, and that James Gunn & Peter Safran’s DC Studios are producing the show. The outlet reports that Pete Jackson, creator of Somewhere Boy and not The Lord of the Rings director, has been tapped to write the new series, which marks a surprising new venture for DC Studios.
V for Vendetta TV Series Proves DC Studios Has a Long Reach
V for Vendetta began as a serialized comic story in the British magazine Warrior in the early 1980s before it made the leap to proper comic issues via DC in 1988. Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, V for Vendetta follows a dystopian view of the UK where a fascist takeover has given way to a police state, prompting the title character of the story (wearing his signature Guy Fawkes mask) to give rise to anarchy and the overthrow of the government.
As many fans know, V for Vendetta was previously adapted into a feature film back in 2005, with Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman starring. Though perhaps best known for popularizing the Guy Fawkes mask in pop culture, the original V for Vendetta movie was also the catalyst for Moore himself to begin publicly distancing himself from adaptations of his work and eventually refusing credit and payment for any that were created.
To that end, DC Studios bringing V for Vendetta back to life in a new form seems to indicate something specific about their larger strategy as a company: there are no sacred cows. James Gunn has already made it clear that even though the DCU and its expansive connectivity are the main priority of the studio, they’re open and willing to tell stories that aren’t a part of that. This is clear from the continued development of The Batman universe from Matt Reeves, but also the upcoming animated movie, Dynamic Duo. A new V for Vendetta also indicates that they’re willing to venture into territory that’s already been worked on, too, giving fans new takes on stories that have already been adapted. It has us wondering what else is on the table, like Watchmen.
There remains one big question about this new V for Vendetta TV series, though, and that’s the form that it will take. The most logical decision for a show like this is to just adapt the comic book story in a new form, expanding on the material in ways that the feature film had to pull back. That said, the potential does exist for the series to do something else and perhaps follow in the footsteps of Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen series for HBO, which functioned as a follow-up to the comic book series and not a larger adaptation. It’s unclear which path HBO’s V for Vendetta will take, but either way, the bar to clear will be high based on the other adaptation of the story and what fans expect from HBO.
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