A new report suggests HBO's V for Vendetta reboot is back to square one

It seems that the V for Vendetta reboot, which was meant to be an HBO series, has hit a wall. For the uninitiated, last November, Variety published a report stating that DC Studios was looking to adapt the acclaimed 1982 Alan Moore graphic novel, V for Vendetta for the small screen. Until this week, there wasn't much update on the series.

Internet scooper Jeff Sneider revealed that the script for the series was written by Pete Jackson. But he reported this Thursday that HBO has passed on Jackson's script for the V for Vendetta HBO reboot series.

V for Vendetta reboot - The Pete Jackson script was supposedly a period piece

Jeff Sneider revealed that the series was a period piece but did not specify the period the story was set in. It should be noted that the graphic novel written in the 80s depicted a dystopian future in the 1990s in the form of a fascistic UK. Therefore, if the V for Vendetta HBO reboot series was set in the 1990s, it would've been accurate to the acclaimed source material.

Jeff Sneider then went on to reveal that HBO wasn't interested in setting their adaptation of DC's Vertigo imprint graphic novel in the past. Rather, the network was hoping for a more modern take on the storyline, much like the two-decade-old movie, which released roughly twenty years after the graphic novel's publishing. Therefore, it is not surprising that the network is also hoping for the same.

Is the HBO series canceled?

No, Sneider specified that even though HBO passed on Pete Jackson's V for Vendetta reboot script, the series is not canceled. The scooper also revealed that HBO and DC Studios might hire a new writer to retool the V for Vendetta HBO reboot series' script. But we don't know when that might happen as DC Studios is trying to gain its footing back after Supergirl's tepid reception.

Did the V for Vendetta reboot have Alan Moore's support?

No, the V for Vendetta reboot did not have the revered British author's support. In fact, Moore hasn't worked with the publisher since the late 1980s. That's because DC owns the rights for V for Vendetta and Watchmen despite Moore creating them. The writer claimed that DC tricked him with fine print in the Watchmen and V for Vendetta contracts.

According to this specific clause, Moore would've retained the rights to his creations as soon as DC stops publishing the novels. Moore expected to retain the rights as soon as the last issues of Watchmen and V for Vendetta were published. However, DC shocked Moore by publishing a collected edition, i.e., a large book consisting of all issues. DC continues to print and reprint this collected edition.

This action continues to ensure that the comics publishing giant and not Moore retains the rights to V for Vendetta. This is why Moore has not given his blessing to the HBO series and did not support the 2019 Watchmen show, or even the 2009 movie. Except for Justice League Unlimited Season 1's adaptation of the author's "For the Man Who Has Everything" (1985), Moore hasn't supported big or small screen interpretations of his work.

His disdain for adaptation can be traced back to the legal troubles for the big screen adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

As we wait to hear more about the V for Vendetta reboot in the upcoming months, you can watch the beloved 2006 movie on HBO Max.

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