Another classic DC Comics series is coming to the small screen. A new TV adaptation of Alan Moore and David Lloyd‘s V for Vendetta is in the works. The graphic novel was previously adapted into a film by James McTeigue in 2005.
According to reports, the project is in development at DC Studios, and is intended for HBO. DC head honcho James Gunn is set to produce with producing partner Peter Safran. Writer Pete Jackson (not to be confused with The Lord of the Rings‘ Peter Jackson) is set to pen the series. He’s best known for writing the Hulu series Somewhere Boy; his TV adaptation of Nick Cave‘s The Death of Bunny Munro is set to premiere this month. The series would be the latest DC adaptation to premiere on HBO: last year, the acclaimed The Batman spin-off The Penguin premiered on the premium cable service, and next year it will host the space-faring Green Lantern Corps on the new series Lanterns.
What Is ‘V for Vendetta’ About?
Originally published in the UK comics anthology Warrior before its cancellation, V for Vendetta was subsequently acquired by DC Comics and published in full. Written by Moore and drawn by Lloyd, it is set in the then-near future of the 1990s, where a nuclear war has devastated most of the world, and the relatively unscathed Britain is ruled by the fascist Norsefire party. With most racial and sexual minorities exterminated, the sole opposition to Norsefire’s police state is the man known only as V; a cunning mastermind whose features are concealed beneath a Guy Fawkes mask, V conducts a series of terrorist attacks against the ruling class. His only ally is Evey Hammond, a teenager who fell afoul of the secret police. As the series progresses, V’s plans to topple the government continue, and his hidden past is partially revealed. The 2005 film version diverged in many ways from the graphic novel; produced by Lana and Lily Wachowski, it starred Hugo Weaving as V and Natalie Portman as Evey, as well as Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, and John Hurt.
This won’t be the first time elements of V for Vendetta have been adapted for the small screen. The DC series Pennyworth, which depicted the origins of Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Pennyworth, was also intended to be a prequel to V for Vendetta, depicting the origins of fascism’s rise in an alternate Britain. However, the series was cancelled after three seasons, and those plans never came to fruition.
A TV adaptation of V for Vendetta is in the works at DC Studios.
via Collider