DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn and other members of the Peacemaker crew were caught off guard by Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to revert its streaming service back to the HBO Max name while filming promotional material for Season 2. Their reactions, captured on video, are both surprising and amusing.
The announcement came as a shock to many when HBO's parent company revealed they would be undoing the previous rebrand and returning to the HBO Max moniker this summer. This unexpected move left not only fans but also key figures at DC Studios puzzled.
The official X account of the soon-to-be-renamed Max shared videos of Gunn and Peacemaker star John Cena reacting to the news. In the footage, Gunn and Cena were reading from a teleprompter, promoting Peacemaker Season 2, set to debut on August 21. As Gunn was speaking, he was visibly surprised when the script referred to HBO Max instead of MAX, only to be informed that it was not a mistake and the change would be announced at the Upfront.
That's good actually. pic.twitter.com/b3WNWOsyT2
— Max (@StreamOnMax) May 14, 2025
"God, we’re calling it HBO Max – what?" Gunn humorously remarked. "We’re calling it HBO Max again?" Other crew members, including DC Studios Co-CEO Peter Safran, could be heard adding to the confusion and laughter. Gunn expressed a positive stance on the change, saying, "That’s good, actually, but I didn’t know that was happening."
In contrast, John Cena seemed to be already in the know and was seen breaking the news to some of the crew behind the camera, adding another layer of entertainment to the situation.
POV: finding out about the rebrand from @JohnCena pic.twitter.com/eyQxhTcJrs
— Max (@StreamOnMax) May 14, 2025
While this could be an elaborate publicity stunt orchestrated by the HBO Max team, the genuine reactions from the DC Studios team add a humorous twist to the streaming service's latest rebrand.
HBO Max initially launched in 2020, offering a wide range of content. It retained its name until 2023 when the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery decided to drop the HBO portion and rebrand it as Max. After two years, the company has now decided that HBO Max is the preferred name.
No specific date for the rebrand has been set yet. As we await updates on both HBO Max and the release of Peacemaker Season 2, you can explore the most anticipated DC projects set for 2025 and delve into our key insights from the latest Peacemaker Season 2 trailer.
