When it comes to upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows, James Gunn and Peter Safran, the heads of DC Studios, are very much letting us have our cake and eat it too. Along with the DC Universe franchise providing a new shared continuity with projects like Creature Commandos and Superman, there’s also still plenty of standalone stories being told onscreen, like Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga. It’s a good bet that the latest DC TV show that’s now in development at HBO will fall into the latter category.
According to sources who spoke with Variety, the premium television network is putting together a V for Vendetta TV series. Gunn and Safran, who will be among the series’ executive producers, have tapped Pete Jackson, the writer behind British TV fare like Somewhere Boy and The Death of Bunny Munro, to pen this small screen adaptation. UK network Channel 4 had previously tried to develop a V for Vendetta TV series, but it was ultimately scrapped.
V for Vendetta was originally a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd and Tony Weare. Taking place in a dystopic version of Great Britain in the near-future where the fascist Norsefire party rules with an iron fist, V, the anarchist who wears the Guy Fawkes mask, embarks on a campaign to overthrow this government and exact revenge on the people who’d held him captive and tortured him. He enlists a young woman named Evey Hammond to aid him in his cause and become his protégée.
The graphic novel was previously adapted into a feature film starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving that performed well both critically and commercially. If HBO’s take on V for Vendetta moves forward, it will be the second Alan Moore-penned comic book property to be adapted by the network, following Watchmen. However, while that 2019 series was a sequel to Moore and Dave Gibbons’ same-named limited series, presumably the V for Vendetta TV show would follow in the movie’s footsteps and adapt the original story again.
As such, don’t expect V for Vendetta to tie into the DCU whatsoever, which is frankly the way it should be. This news comes a year after The Penguin, the first TV show from the aforementioned Batman franchise, finished its eight-episode run on HBO. Looking into the near future, Lanterns, the Green Lantern-focused show that is set in the DCU, is expected to premiere on the network sometime in early 2026.
Interestingly enough, the DC TV show Pennyworth was envisioned to be a prequel to V for Vendetta, although it was cancelled before that could be explore in depth. We’ll keep you apprised on how this new adaptation is coming along as more updates come in. Unfortunately, the V for Vendetta movie is not currently streaming, but Warner Bros. will be bring it back to theaters in on November 5, 2026 (how appropriate) to celebrate its 20th anniversary.