V for Vendetta envisions a 2022 United Kingdom transformed into a totalitarian autocracy following a series of global catastrophes, including a devastating pandemic and a collapse of the United States into civil war. The world is governed by the Norsefire party, which maintains power through the Eye (visual surveillance), the Ear (audio surveillance), and the Mouth (the state propaganda ministry led by a bombastic media personality). The environment is one of clinical order mask-wearing, strict curfews, and the violent suppression of racial, religious, and sexual minorities.

Societal dynamics are driven by a manufactured culture of fear. The film suggests that the regime's rise was facilitated by a biological attack—the St. Mary's Virus—which the government itself unleashed to create a demand for security at the cost of liberty. In this timeline, Earth is characterized by isolationist nationalism; while Britain remains stable under the boot of Chancellor Sutler, the rest of the world, particularly the former United States, is depicted as a fractured wasteland of war and disease, making the UK a grim "last bastion" of civilization.

Reflecting on the real-world 2022, critics and the film's director, James McTeigue, have noted the film's prescient depiction of how health crises can be leveraged for political consolidation. While the film correctly predicted the proliferation of CCTV and biometric monitoring, its vision of a single "Voice of London" was arguably surpassed by the more complex reality of algorithmic social media echo chambers. Furthermore, the Guy Fawkes mask featured in the film transitioned from a fictional prop to a real-world symbol of global protest, effectively predicting the rise of anonymous, decentralized activism in the early 21st century.