James Gunn might be overseeing the DC Universe, but even he isn’t safe from the chaotic mess that is Warner Bros. Discovery’s branding strategy. Case in point: an unfiltered moment from a recent promo shoot for Peacemaker Season 2 where both Gunn and star John Cena reacted live to the baffling announcement that Max is rebranding and changing back to HBO Max.
The streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, then just Max, is now circling back to its original name. This announcement was made official at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Upfronts in May, with the name swap scheduled to roll out soon. But here’s the kicker: no one told James Gunn. Or John Cena.
While promoting Peacemaker Season 2—a show about a gun-toting antihero who believes peace is worth any cost—Gunn was caught completely off guard mid-read. “God, we’re calling it HBO Max. What!?” he blurts out, eyes darting off-camera. “We’re calling it HBO Max again?”
You can hear someone off-camera confirm it. His producing partner and fellow DC boss Peter Safran even asks, “Is that going to be announced at the Upfronts?” Gunn, clearly trying to process the news, stammers and chuckles nervously. “That’s… That’s good actually. But I didn’t know that was happening.”
It’s awkward. It’s hilarious. It’s also very real—so much so that Gunn later jumped on Instagram Stories to clarify that no, this wasn’t a bit. He genuinely had no clue about the HBO Max name change.
Then came John Cena’s turn, and let’s just say, the wrestler-turned-actor‘s confusion was contagious.
Cena, ever the professional, stopped mid-line to ask: “Tomorrow we are naming the company HBO? So I should correct myself and say HBO Max instead of Max in all these reads?” His expression screamed, “Are we being punk’d?” You can practically hear the PR team scrambling in the background trying to spin this as normal.
Naturally, the internet wasted no time turning the whole thing into meme gold. Between the genuine confusion of the DC leadership and the already-confusing history of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming names, fans had a field day.
All this chaos comes as Peacemaker gets ready to punch his way back onto screens with Season 2. The series follows Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker (Cena), who’s still on his misguided mission to make the world a better place—even if that means blowing up half of it in the process. Expect more daddy issues, dance routines, and eagle sidekicks.
And yes, it’ll be streaming on… Max. Sorry, HBO Max. Again.
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