Max gets it's HBO Back

The entertainment multiverse buzzes with major franchise returns as Jessica Jones officially joins the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally gets a July 17 premiere date after a nearly two-year hiatus.

• Jessica Jones actress Krysten Ritter returns to her iconic role, joining Charlie Cox in Daredevil: Born Again for its second season
• Jake Schreier in early talks to direct Marvel's new X-Men movie following positive reception to Thunderbolts
• DC Comics announces "Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum," a five-issue limited series exploring classic and newly discovered kryptonites
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns July 17 with a new villain that will test the Enterprise crew's resolve
• Prime Video renews Fallout for Season 3 before Season 2 even premieres, with the show becoming a top 3 title for the streaming service
• Warner Bros. Discovery reverting "Max" back to "HBO Max" after acknowledging consumers never embraced the simplified name
• Sarah Michelle Gellar is executive producing the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot at Hulu with Ryan Kiera Armstrong as the new Slayer
• Sesame Street finds a new home at Netflix while continuing to air on PBS stations and PBS Kids streaming platforms

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro and Weather Update
• 3:10 Justin Bieber's Financial Collapse
• 4:40 Marvel News: Jessica Jones Returns
• 8:50 X-Men and Captain America Updates
• 12:15 DC Comics: The Kryptonite Spectrum
• 14:15 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Return
• 16:40 Fallout Renewal and Fox Lineup Changes
• 20:50 HBO Max Rebranding and Buffy Reboot
• 23:25 Closing Stories and Announcements

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Tonight, jessica Jones returns the spectrum of kryptonite, Strange New Worlds has a date and Max gets modified. All that and more on this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Welcome to Multiverse Tonight, your source for geek news. We dissect films, games, comics and much more, bringing you insightful commentary on pop culture. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, thomas Townley. Well, hello everyone and welcome to episode 240 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley.

Speaker 1: 0:37

And well, we had a rough weather night last night in parts of Kansas. It totally missed where I'm at in Kingman for some reason, which is a shame, but it's not a shame. A couple of communities in Kansas had tornadoes, so we were at least spared that. Luckily, the town of Greensburg, which was wiped off the map a couple decades ago by a tornado, was also spared. It luckily went right past Greensburg, so that's good news. But I'm feeling it right now. I mean I can tell that the front's passing, I can tell that the barometer's going up, so we're supposed to get some weather tonight as well, so let's hope for the best. Anyway, I hope you've caught Andor.

Speaker 1: 1:41

The last few episodes of Andor. That was a hell of a second season. The finish it out. It was, as I said, basically three mini-movies Basically bring you right up to the beginning of Rogue One, but they did it right, so hopefully we'll see more of that in the future. Also, doctor who unveiled a big reveal in its latest episode, so we have a classic Doctor who villain back to cause trouble for the doctor, so I'm looking forward to that.

Speaker 1: 2:28

By the way, can you tell that I'm sounding or I'm sounding happier? Well, I've had my medication increased. So you know it's helping me with my depression and it's Mental Health Awareness Month, so if you're feeling crappy, go get yourself something, some mental health awareness. Even if it's going to your regular doctor and saying I feel depressed, well, at least do something for you, put you on Zoloft or some meds. You don't have to have a psychiatrist to get mental help, you just need you.

Speaker 1: 3:10

And one other note this story. I absolutely love this story because I freaking hate this man. Justin Bieber reveals why he sold his music catalog for $200 million because he lost his entire fortune. What a dope. Bieber, 31, unloaded his nearly 300-song collection to Hypogenesis Songs Capital for a report $200 million because he was on verge of financial collapse. Declaring to a new documentary titled TMZ Investigates what Happened to Justin Bieber. Tmz investigates what happened to Justin Bieber Now. The documentary says that he had, at one time, between $500 million and $1 billion throughout his career, but had to sell it because of debts incurred due to the cancellation of his Justice World tour. So I hate to say it, but you know, dessert that serves him right? I mean, justin Bieber has and always will be a clown, so he deserves to be, you know, shot out of a cannon.

Speaker 1: 4:24

So, anyway, let's go on to the Marvel news, and Marvel News begins with Christian Ritter, who is officially back as hard-fighting, hard-drinking Marvel hero, jessica Jones. The announcement was made during Disney's upfront presentation to advertisers in New York this past Tuesday. Ritter took the stage with Charlie Cox, star of Devil, devil Born Again, to reveal that she'll be joining the show for the second season. Quote, ritter said, quote it's so great to be back, returning to Jessica after three seasons and the Defenders and now joining the MCU. I'm so excited to bring back this iconic character and, without giving too much away, there is much more in store for Jessica Jones. This is going to be an incredible season Now.

Speaker 1: 5:15

Ritter first played Jones in the self-titled Netflix series that debuted in 2015. Jessica Jones was one of five Marvel shows to air on Netflix alongside Daredevil, luke Cage, iron Fist, the Punisher and the crossover series the Defenders. Jessica Jones ultimately aired for three seasons, with its final Netflix season airing in 2019. It was canceled, along with the other Marvel Netflix shows, when Disney initiated plans to air Marvel Cinematic Universe shows on Disney+. So that's good. I loved the first season of Jessica Jones. You know where she went up against the Purple man. That was a good show, tough show. So I'm happy to see Jessica Jones getting into the MCU officially. Next I am Jessica or Jake Schur, director of the upcoming Thunderbolts. I know this is the upcoming Thunderbolts. That's just the way the script reads Is reportedly in early discussions to help Marvel Studios' new X-Men movie.

Speaker 1: 6:18

According to Deadline sources, following a recent meeting, schreier is considered the frontrunner for this highly anticipated project, with Michael Leslie having penned the script and Kevin Feige producing. Marvel Studios is taking a deliberate approach to selecting a director, mirroring their patent process in finding writers for the film. Last year, schreier emerged as a leading candidate after positive early reviews to Thunderbolts, which has since garnered strong reviews and a significant $162 million global opening, marking Marvel's best reception in years. Schreier's positive experience collaborating with Marvel on Thunderbolts, hailed as their best-reviewed film since Spiderman. No Way Home, played a significant role. Marvel executives were also aware of Schreier's enthusiasm for the X-Men comics, making him a natural contender to pitch his vision for a new movie. Even before the positive buzz around Thunderbolts, other studios were eager to work with Schreier. However, sources indicate he has recently declined other offers, signaling his focus on potentially directing the X-Men film.

Speaker 1: 7:23

Now, marvel's tendency is to offer significant projects to directors following successful collaborations. The Russo brothers directed the Avengers sequel after their Captain America hit, and Matt Shackman was given the Fantastic Four first steps after his work on WandaVision. The development is likely to excite fans, who have long awaited a new X-Men movie since Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox back in 2019. The X-Men franchise was a highly successful Marvel property for Fox, but after the disappointing Dark Phoenix in 2019, a fresh direction was sorely needed. The news follows the immense success of Marvel's animated series X-Men 97 on Disney+, which received critical acclaim and high ratings, demonstrating the franchise's continued value. Additionally, deadpool and Wolverine's billion-dollar global box office success in 2024 brought the potential of the X-Men universe into highlight. Brought the potential of the X-Men universe into highlight.

Speaker 1: 8:18

Disney announced on Tuesday that Captain America Brave New World, one of the latest films from Marvel Studios, will begin streaming exclusively on Disney Plus on May 28th. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's Anthony Mackie return in the film as Sam Wilson, who now wields the shield as Captain America. After meeting with newly elected US President Thaddeus, ross Wilson soon finds himself in the middle of an international incident. In a race against time, he must discover the reasons behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red. Directed by Julius Ohn, the film also starred Danny Ramirez, shira Haas, zosia Rogmore, carl Lumbly, giancarlo Esposito, liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson, with Kevin Feige and Nate Moore producing. Captain America Brave New World hit theaters in February, grossing over $415 million worldwide. Marvel's follow-up, thunderbolts, has taken in $273 million and remains in theaters.

Speaker 1: 9:17

Next up, the Fantastic Four first steps on July 25th. Lisa Colon-Zayas, a fan favorite on FX's the Bear, has closed the deal to join Spider-Man Brand New Day, the fourth installment in the Spidey saga from Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. Deadline has learned that reps for Sony and Marvel have declined to comment details as to Colon. Zayas' role remains stuck in a spider's web. The Emmy winner joins the ensemble led by Tom Holland, who of course plays Pierre Parker with Stranger Things, sadie Sink on board in the mystery role, zendaya and Jacob Patlon, who respectfully played Pierre's love interest, mj and close friend Ned, are expected to return. The pick is scheduled to swing in the theaters on July 31st 2026.

Speaker 1: 10:14

Now let's go on to the DC Comics News. Dc Comics News begins with DC's Black Label announcing Superman the Kryptonite Spectrum, a five-issue limited series by the Eisner-nominated Ice Cream man team of W Maxwell, prince, martine Morazzo and Chris O'Halloran. This genre-defying series will reimagine Superman as he encounters every type of kryptonite, including four newly discovered ones in deep space, prompting him to consult Batman to understand their effects. Each issue will delve into different aspects of Superman's character, mythos and moral code, focusing on introspective fun and genre-fluid storytelling rather than horror. Prince emphasizes their intent to use their unique storytelling approach to create a strange and timeless, yet grounded Superman story, exploring the effects of not only known kryptonites but also new colors like purple and cobalt. Now DC group editor Paul Kaminsky describes the series as an opportunity to apply the Ice Cream Man's team acclaimed style to the DC universe, with episodic, often warped, suspenseful and occasionally horrific tales that draw from the Silver Age of Superman. He highlights the series as a statement of the franchise's forward-looking approach to talent and creativity. Prince adds that, beyond the novelty of new kryptonites, the series will also explore relabeled human problems, using the idea that home hurts, as kryptonite is the piece of Superman's destroyed home and applying this concept to other heroes. He promises a blend of sad, funny and strange elements, with make-your-jaw-drop man of Steel, man of Tomorrow moments and a generally happy tone. Superman, the kryptonite spectrum number one, with a main cover by Morazo and variant covers by Tula Lute, juan Ferreira, wes Craig, a foil variant, and Alex Ekman-Lan, a 1 in 25 variant, will be available in comic book stores on August 13th 2025.

Speaker 1: 12:19

Now let's go on to the Star Trek news. The wait for Star Trek fans has been more painful than a phaser blast to the face. The season two finale of Star Trek, strange New Worlds aired on August 10th 2023. Unlifted fans on Major Cliffhanger as a war between the Federation and Gorn seemed inevitable. Season 3 of Strange New Worlds will now kick off on Thursday, july 17th, nearly two years after, and will air weekly on Paramount Plus until September 3rd uh, september 11th, I should say In April. In early April, star Trek released the season's official teaser trailer, but didn't give much away in terms of how the show will progress. Paramount says the new season will include a villain that will test our character's grit and resolve. Star Trek Strange New Worlds will be the first new Trek released since the direct-to-streaming pile of crap, section 31. Direct-to-streaming pile of crap, section 31. That film was a steaming bag of dog doo.

Speaker 1: 13:25

Strange New Worlds is set in the decade preceding the original series and features Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, rupert Romain as number one and Ethan Peck as Spock on the USS Enterprise. I'm so ready for this show. I need some new Star Trek. They were doing so well. They had plenty of Star Trek and then poof, nothing. It's like Paramount Plus kind of lost the thread. Get back on it, paramount. Anyway, let's go to the geek news.

Speaker 1: 14:10

And geek news begins with Prime Video, which has renewed the hit video game series Fallout for a season three ahead of the season two premiere this December. Season two will pick up in the aftermath of season one's epic finale and take audiences along for a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas. To date, more than 100 million viewers have watched Fallout Season 1, putting it in the top three prime video titles ever. The video game adaption was a hit when it premiered in April of 2024 and was based on the popular post-apocalyptic gaming franchise of the same name. The show follows Ella Purnell's protagonist, lucy McLean, as she emerges from an underground vault after a nuclear war devastated the world. Along the way, she meets a variety of terrifying and nuclear-radiated creatures and characters as she looked for her father, hank, played by Kyle McLaughlin, who was kidnapped by some raiders. The cast also include Aaron Moten as Maximus, a power armor-wearing member of the Brotherhood of Steel who went rogue, and Walton Goggins as the ghoul, a deformed bounty hunter who was revealed to be Vault-Tec's spokesperson Cooper Howard, before the nuclear outbreak.

Speaker 1: 15:30

Fox revealed in its 2025-2026 scheduled Monday, ahead of its upfront presentations to advertisers at the Manhattan Center in New York, that among the biggest highlights of the slate to return was the Fox-turned-TBS-now-Fox-again-and-mid-series American Dad, as well as Jane Lynch's weakest linkest Link moving over from NBC and a reboot of Fear Factor. Overall, fox is adding six new series to its lineup over the next broadcast season, including one-hour comedy, best Medicine, dramatic thriller, memory of a Killer, multi-part scripted event, the Faithful and a competition series 99 to Beat Lynch's celebrity Weakest Link and Fear Factor. The next chapter will also be there, as well as a new holiday special edition of Gordon Ramsay's Next Level Chef, titled Next Level Baker. American Dad, created by Seth MacFarlane, mike Baker and Matt Weitzman, premiered on Fox back in 2005 and ran for nine seasons before moving to TBS for 10 more in 2014. The show was the last scripted series remaining on TBS when its order ended in March. Around the same time, reports of a possible return to Fox surfaced. Fox entertainment CEO Rob Wade said in the statement quote it was opportunistic, for for the network, it's run was over on TBS, so we were delighted to bring the show back to its original home. Fox officially cemented the return of American Dad in early April when it joined fellow long-running animated shows the Simpsons, family Guy and Bob's Burgers, all of which are produced by Disney's 20th Television Animation and, receiving a massive four-season order, will also take all four shows through the 2028-2029 season.

Speaker 1: 17:14

Warner Bros Discovery announced that Max will revert to its old name, hbo Max, later this summer. This rebranding was revealed at the upfront presentation in New York and aims to highlight the brand's distinctiveness amid a saturated content market. Executives note the platform's recent growth, adding 22 million subscribers, and expansion into new global markets. Now hints for the change appeared earlier this year, with a shift in the color scheme from blue to dark gray, the second such change since the initial purple branding in 2020. The updated logo will retain the rounded layers of the original HBO. Jb Perret, president and CEO of Streaming, explained that this evolution is driven by consumer demand for better content rather than more. While not explicitly calling the 2023 Max rebrand a mistake, the company acknowledged that consumers did not fully embrace the new name, emphasizing their commitment to adapting their strategy based on consumer data. Now, during the presentation, pierrette and Casey Blas, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, reviewed the strategy's service's five-year progress before unveiling the change, which was met by laughter and applause. So yeah, did anybody really just stop calling hbo max? I mean it's, it's like it's always max or it's always it's always hbo. And also, max isn't a very descriptive term. You you want people to know what, what you're getting max. Max is a name. I might as well rename it Max Power, so you know it's better that HBO Max gets that name back.

Speaker 1: 19:05

Ryan Keir Armstrong from Star Wars' Skeleton Crew and Firestarter has landed lead opposite Sir Michelle Gellar in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, which has a pilot order over at Hulu. Armstrong will play the new Slayer in the untitled Buffyverse project, which Gellar will exec to produce. In addition to reprising her signature role as Buffy Summers, oscar winner Chloe Zhao is directing the pilot, written by Nora and Lilia Suckerman. No additional information has been provided about the project, which is referred to as the next chapter in the Buffyverse, which comes from 20th Television and Searchlight TV. The character played by Armstrong is described in casting materials as an introverted high school student. Now there is some symbolism in Armstrong's casting as Geller's spiritual successor. The actress's names Ryan Keir Armstrong and Sarah Michelle Geller share the same cadence, but it was Armstrong's acting chops that won her the role. According to Geller Quote, there was only one girl that I wanted by my side. To have that kind of emotional intelligence and talent at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.

Speaker 1: 20:19

Visual effects workers at Avatar, marvel and Disney have successfully ratified their first labor contracts, representing a significant achievement for the VFX industry. The contracts secured through the efforts of IATCE provide standard union benefits, such as overtime pay, eligibility for the motion picture industry, pension and health plan, meal penalties, rest periods and turnaround times. Additionally, the Disney Marvel agreement includes raises of 4% for the first year and 3.5% in the second. Along with previous IATCE negotiations, iatce International President Matthew Loeb commended the bargaining units for their successful negotiation of fair contracts, highlighting their leadership and determination through the process. The unionization efforts saw unanimous support from Marvel workers in a 2023 vote, followed by a similar outcome for Disney VFX workers. Avatar VFX workers voted in favor of unionization back in January of 2024. Industry professionals have flawed these agreements has a crucial victory for the entire VFX sector. Effects sector.

Speaker 1: 21:29

And finally tonight, sesame Street has a new home at Netflix, where the children's show's 56th season will air later this year. 90 hours of previous programming will also be made available to the streaming platform. Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind the show, announced just today, on Monday. The new season will feature format changes that provide for more interaction and highlight familiar segments like Elmo's World and Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck. Sesame Workshop said new episodes will focus on an 11-minute story instead of shorter format storylines. A new Sesame Street season will also air on public broadcasting service stations and PBS Kids streaming platforms. The same day they air on Netflix. In a statement from, sesame Workshop quote. This unique public-private partnership will enable us to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix's global reach the world with Netflix's global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the US continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love.

Speaker 1: 22:35

The deal between Sesame Workshop and Netflix comes after President Trump earlier this month signed an executive order that seeks to end federal funding for PBS and National Public Radio, which, by the way, he absolutely can't do. That's Congress's job. Congress has the power of the purse, not some big orange lump in the White House. So stick it, president Trump. Anyway, that brings us to the end of our show for today.

Speaker 1: 23:05

Now be sure to check us out on social media. Show for today. Now be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Blue Sky and Twitter, at Multiverse Tom Threads, facebook and Instagram, as well at Multiverse Tonight. And if you've gotten some value out of the show and would like to pay it back, head on over to Multiverse Tonight, where you'll find our Patreon and Ko-fi links. Check our show notes with our TeePublic store and so much more. You can leave some feedback as well Now, if this is your first time listening. Thank you very much and welcome. Now go ahead and hit that subscribe button and share us with others. Now thanks to Hot Dope for the intro music and Lobo Loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Tonight. We'll be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Now, please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night.