20 Years Ago Today, One Of The Best Comic Book Adaptations Released (& Was Disowned By Its Writer)

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Published Mar 17, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT

Shawn S. Lealos is an entertainment writer who is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has written for Screen Rant, CBR, ComicBook, The Direct, The Sportster, Chud, 411mania, Renegade Cinema, Yahoo Movies, and many more.

Shawn has a bachelor's degree in professional writing and a minor in film studies from the University of Oklahoma. He also has won numerous awards, including several Columbia Gold Circle Awards and an SPJ honor.

He also wrote Dollar Deal: The Story of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers, the first official book about the Dollar Baby film program. Shawn is also currently writing his first fiction novel under a pen name, based in the fantasy genre.

To learn more, visit his website at shawnlealos.net.

It has been 20 years since one of the best comic book adaptations was released, and even though the story's original writer disowned it, the film remains a masterpiece. Alan Moore is one of the most legendary comic book writers in history. He wrote iconic films like Watchmen, and his legacy is almost unmatched in comics.

However, when the Wachowskis planned to produce an adaptation of his comic book story V for Vendetta, Moore was not happy with the production. Two previous movies were made based on his work, and both caused problems for the writer. As a result, Moore distanced himself from Hollywood and isn't credited in this incredible film.

V For Vendetta Hit Theaters 20 Years Ago

V (Hugo Weaving) with his arms raised in V for Vendetta

On March 17, 2006, V for Vendetta hit theaters in North America. After releasing one day earlier in Germany, the movie told the story of a dystopian near-future in Britain that pitted a fascist and totalitarian government regime against a rebellion of anarchists. V was the man who planned a terrorist attack to free his country.

Hugo Weaving played V, a man who wears a Guy Fawkes mask and preaches rebelling against the corrupt government of his country. He ends up bringing in a young woman named Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), and the two plan the bombing of the Parliament building with bombs set in the underground tunnels.

Despite Moore's refusal to be involved and his open disdain for the movie being made, it was still a minor success, making $134.7 million on a $50 million budget. It also has a 73% Rotten Tomatoes score and an even higher 90% audience score. Finally, it earned nominations at the Hugo Awards, Satellite Awards, and Saturn Awards.

The Movie Remains A Perfect Comic Book Dystopian Fantasy

A bald Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) with gloved hands on her shoulder and looking up defiantly in V for Vendetta

The movie veered away from Alan Moore's themes, though. In the comic books, Moore told the story of two political extremes that were pitted against each other, with ultra-right fascists and extreme anarchists. However, the movie changed the plot to be more of a look at American conservatives versus liberals in the Bush era.

Despite this, both share the same common themes of the struggle between freedom and state control, and have a strong similarity to classic literature like George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Even the film's depiction of Adam Sutler (John Hurt) on giant video screens bears a similarity to the image of Big Brother.

This is a theme that many dystopian movies play around with, to different levels of success. This goes back to George Lucas's THX 1138, where society held control over everyone's emotions, and then later to mainstream movies like The Hunger Games, where the government used death to force complicity.

The police and government in V for Vendetta are frightening and deadly, and their willingness to kill any dissidents is even more terrifying today than it was when the movie was made in Bush-era America. Dystopian sci-fi is one of the genre's most popular formats, and V for Vendetta did it masterfully.

Alan Moore Disowned The Movie (But For Good Reason)

Alan Moore disowned V for Vendetta, but it wasn't because of the movie's quality. Instead, Moore disowns every movie made based on his writing. When looking at the credits, it says Based on V for Vendetta by David Lloyd, the author of the original comic book story. Moore disassociated from it while the film was in production.

This means that Moore was not dissatisfied with the movie, but he was not happy about previous adaptations of his work. However, Moore was not happy with the original script. Moore said the original script had plot holes, and it was contrary to his story, which pitted two political extremes against each other.

Because he wasn't invited to be involved with the writing or directing, he wanted his name removed from the movie. Not only that, but Moore ended his cooperation with DC Comics because Warner Bros. claimed that he endorsed the film, which he never did. This also isn't the only movie Moore disowned.

The first movie made based on Alan Moore's work was From Hell, directed by the Hughes brothers, who made huge changes from the original comic book story. The next was the worst, with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which not only departed from the book but was a huge flop that actually convinced Sean Connery to retire from acting.

Moore agreed at the time to distance himself from the process. He said he wouldn't see them, and his books would remain there and be separate from the movies. When someone sued and claimed Moore plagiarized their original movie script for his comic, it soured him on movie adaptations.

This led Moore to want nothing to do with any more films and demanded his name not be associated with V for Vendetta or any future movies based on his work. This included Watchmen, Constantine, Batman: The Killing Joke, and the 2019 HBO Watchmen series. This all started 20 years ago with V for Vendetta.