Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Max

  • GoT Prequel ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Set for 2025

    GoT Prequel ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Set for 2025

    As the Summer release of Season 2 of Max’s House of the Dragon draws nearer and HBO begins to develop another Game of Thrones prequel in Aegon’s Conquest, another series based on the fictional world of George R.R. Martin that’s been in development for some time received an update from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov. The Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, based on Martin’s Dunk & Egg stories, has been given a “late 2025” release window as revealed in an earnings call.

    In development since 2021, the prequel series is “set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.” It was ordered to series in April 2023,

    A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg.

    Logline for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight

    Production on the series is set to get underway this spring with Martin and Ira Parker serving as the head writers.

  • Max Sets Date for ‘Harry Potter’ Streaming Series Debut

    Max Sets Date for ‘Harry Potter’ Streaming Series Debut

    As part of the rollout of their new and improved streaming service, Max, in April 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed the rumored development of a streaming series based on J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter novels. Warner Bros. Discovery is working closely with Rowling on the series which the author said “will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.” Nearly a year has passed since the announcement and other than a recent comment by Channing Dungey, chairperson of Warner Bros Television, revealed that the studio was meeting with writers in their search for a showrunner, not much has surfaced about the new adaptation. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has provided some info about when the first season of the series can be expected to hit Max.

    During an earnings call, Zaslav indicated that the first season of the news series is currently planned to hit Max in 2026. “We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter. We spent some real time with JK and her team,” said Zaslav of a recent meeting in London with the author. “Both sides just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”

    The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.

    According to Variety, the current plan is for the new series to span 7 seasons which would, of course, mean each of the 7 books would be adapted into a single season. Once the studio decides on a showrunner, the casting process could become a cultural phenomenon.

    Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.

    Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content, on the development of the Harry Potter streaming series for Max

    Source: Variety

  • ‘House of the Dragon’ Prequel in Development at HBO with ‘The Batman Part II’ Writer Onboard

    ‘House of the Dragon’ Prequel in Development at HBO with ‘The Batman Part II’ Writer Onboard

    Steve Jobs once said “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” HBO must have taken those words to heart as they continue to push the story of Game of Thrones further into the past of Westeros. According to THR, HBO is developing a series around Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros. Mattson Tomlin, who co-wrote Matt Reeves‘ The Batman Part II is penning the prequel for HBO.

    Aegon’s Conquest will be the third Game of Thrones franchise spinoff since the original ended its run in 2019. House of the Dragon‘s sophomore season is set to stream this summer and production will begin soon on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, a series based on the Dunk and Eggs stories.

    In the expansive history of George R.R. Martin’s fictional world detailed in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, Aegon’s Conquest took place roughy 110-130 years before the events of House of the Dragon and over 400 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Aegon’s Conquest refers to the invasion and subsequent unification of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros by Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, riding on their dragons. Their rule solidified the Targaryens’ control over the realm for nearly three centuries. Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke, carries the blood of Aegon through her father, Aerys II Targaryen, also known as the Mad King. This familial connection links Daenerys to the great legacy of her ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror, and his conquering dragons.

    About Aegon’s Conquest

    Prelude to Conquest: Aegon’s Landing and the Birth of Ambition

    Aegon Targaryen, along with his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys, embarked on an audacious journey to Westeros with their dragons and a modest army. Their arrival marked the beginning of a saga that would reshape the continent forever. Born of Valyrian blood and wielding the power of dragons, Aegon’s ambition knew no bounds. With dreams of forging a unified realm under his rule, he set his sights on the fractious Seven Kingdoms, determined to bend them to his will. As the last scion of House Targaryen, Aegon carried with him the legacy of his ancestors and the weight of destiny, driven by a singular purpose: to carve out a new empire amidst the chaos of warring kingdoms.

    Harrenhal’s Fall: Dragonfire and the End of an Era

    Aegon’s first conquest was the legendary Harrenhal, seat of House Hoare. King Harren the Black’s defiance met a fiery end when Aegon’s dragons reduced the imposing castle to ashes, heralding the dawn of a new era in the Riverlands. The destruction of Harrenhal sent shockwaves throughout Westeros, demonstrating the devastating power of dragonfire and the futility of resistance against Aegon’s might.

    Storm’s End and the Baratheon Legacy

    The Stormlands fell next to Aegon’s might as he clashed with King Argilac the Arrogant. The decisive Battle of the Last Storm saw the defeat of House Durrandon and the rise of House Baratheon, with Orys Baratheon earning both the lordship and the hand of Argilac’s daughter. With Storm’s End secured and House Baratheon firmly established, Aegon strengthened his foothold in the southern regions of Westeros, laying the groundwork for his further conquests.

    Conflagration in the Reach: Victory at the Field of Fire

    The fertile fields of the Reach became the battleground for Aegon’s ambitions as he confronted the armies of House Gardener. The Field of Fire witnessed the unparalleled might of Aegon’s dragons, resulting in the submission of House Gardener and the ascension of House Tyrell as stewards of the Reach. With the Reach firmly under his control, Aegon solidified his position as the preeminent power in southern Westeros, setting the stage for his conquest of the western kingdoms.

    The Westerlands and the Last Stand

    Aegon’s conquest culminated in the Westerlands, where King Loren Lannister and King Mern IX Gardener made their final stand. The Battle of the Mander sealed their fate, with House Lannister and House Gardener meeting their demise and paving the way for House Stark and House Tully to rise as paramount rulers. With the fall of the last remaining kingdoms resisting his rule, Aegon’s dominance over the Seven Kingdoms was complete, ushering in a new era of Targaryen supremacy.

    Legacy of the Conquest: The Targaryen Dynasty and Beyond

    With the Seven Kingdoms united under his rule, Aegon the Conqueror was crowned King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, marking the dawn of the Targaryen dynasty. His reign laid the foundation for centuries of Targaryen rule, shaping the fate of Westeros for generations to come. Aegon’s conquest would echo through the annals of history, leaving an indelible mark on the realm and setting the stage for the turbulent events that would follow in its wake.

    Aegon’s Conquest Resonates Through the Ages

    Aegon’s conquest remains a defining chapter in the history of Westeros, a testament to the power of ambition, courage, and the relentless pursuit of destiny. From the ashes of conflict rose the Iron Throne, forging a new era of unity and turmoil that would echo throughout the annals of time. As the Seven Kingdoms united under the banner of House Targaryen, the stage was set for centuries of intrigue, betrayal, and struggle for power, ensuring that Aegon’s legacy would endure for generations to come.

    Source: THR

  • ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Casting Used Video Game Lines Before Halting Production

    ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Casting Used Video Game Lines Before Halting Production

    Here’s a rather bizarre piece of news, or rather trivia at some point later down the line. While The Last of Us was preparing for its second season, the WGA strike happened with many writers banding together to fight for a liveable wage. In any way one would look at it, it’s an important fight to ensure that creativity as we know it lives on moving forward and now allowing artificial intelligence to become a new norm to save labor costs of talented writers.

    Studios are a bit desperate, however, to keep their big shows going and are finding ways to avoid just following through on the inquiries made by the writers. In the case of The Last Of Us‘ second season, it seems they opted to use video game sequences to cast before finally shutting the doors on the production after all.

    Variety is reporting that they have asked actors to read sides taken directly from The Last of Us Part II, which the second season will reportedly be based on. What makes this bizarre is that there are currently no scripts for that very season even as hopes were to start production in early 2024 in Vancouver. Series showrunner Craig Mazin has been advocating for the WGA and was spotted at the picket line.

    It’s unclear what exactly pushed for this casting process but it is likely the studio hoped that they could jump into production as soon as possible if they already have a cast in place with the WGA coming to an end eventually. Neil Druckmann, series co-creator and creative director of the game, has also not been involved with the series which adds to some concerns about how they might move forward even after the series’ massive viewership.

    Source: Variety

  • James Gunn Confirms When ‘Creature Commandos’ Will Kick Off the New DCU

    James Gunn Confirms When ‘Creature Commandos’ Will Kick Off the New DCU

    When James Gunn revealed part of DC Studios Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate, it was revealed that the animated Max series Creature Commandos was the first project to get the green light. When the series was announced, Gunn has already completed scripting all seven episodes and with casting just recently announced, it’s been pretty consistently clear that it would be the project that launched the new DCU. Now Gunn has given fans an idea of when they can expect to see the motley crew.

    While participating in one of his favorite pastimes (interacting with fans on Twitter), Gunn revealed that Creature Commandos is slated for a 2024 release on Max, the new name of the combined streaming services HBO Max and Discovery.

    Gunn and Peter Safran have made it clear that the plan is for the talent who lend their voices to Creature Commandos to also portray the characters in live-action. It was made clear that Rick Flag Sr., voiced by Frank Grillo, will show up in other projects and it’s likely he won’t be the only one. With the streaming series Waller likely the next project in the queue, and Viola Davis part of the cast of Creature Commandos, it’s possible we might see Flag Sr. in live action sooner rather than later.

  • ‘It’ Prequel ‘Welcome to Derry’ Continues to Expand Its Cast

    ‘It’ Prequel ‘Welcome to Derry’ Continues to Expand Its Cast

    The cast for Welcome to Derry is continuing to grow, as it has now added Revenge’s Madeleine Stowe and Daredevil’s Stephen Rider. The project still technically doesn’t have an official name and the “Welcome to Derry” is more a working title for now, but it wouldn’t be too surprised if it gets the It moniker added as other franchises do nowadays, such as Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

    The two additions are joining a cast that currently consists of Chris Chalk, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, and Taylour Paige. We currently have no details on who exactly they are set to play and the details are still under lock and key on just how much it’ll explore the history of Derry. It’s very likely going to act as a prequel to the story of Pennywise and how the Dancing Clown came to be but Bill Skarsgard has denied any involvement of far.

    The project is from the mind of the latest It films’ director Andy Muschietty, who developed the HBO Max Original series with Jason Fuchs, who is acting as the series showrunner, and his wife Barbara Muschietti. There’s a lot of potentials to explore this series in a Lovecraftian way as we slowly uncover the creature’s growing hold over Derry and the ones that stood up against him when no other could.

    Source: Deadline

  • Warner Bros. Discovery Stocks Drop After HBO Max Relaunch Presentation

    Warner Bros. Discovery Stocks Drop After HBO Max Relaunch Presentation

    Well, that’s not a good sign. It seems investors aren’t quite sold on the whole HBO Max renaming, as Warner Bros. Discovery’s stocks have dropped by 6%. Ever since the Discovery merger, the stocks for the company have been facing quite some troubling developments and likely aren’t adding any more pressure to its team trying to balance out its ever-increasing debt that led to the sacrifice of projects like Batgirl or a Scoob! Christmas special.

    Overall, the market has been down over Wednesday as Paramount Global, Netflix, and Disney also faced a drop but Warner Bros. had the highest at 5.8%. The Dow Jones index dropped by 38.2 points with the Nasdaq dropping 102 points or 1%. Warner Bros. Discovery held its presentation during trading hours, hoping to push everything in a more positive direction but it seems Wall Street isn’t having it. So, it seems they still have a long way to go at this point.

    In January, the company balanced out slightly after dropping below $10, as it now stands at around $15. It’s not a good sign though if they try to relaunch a three-year-old streaming service with a new name and most aren’t seeing this as a positive change. There is no analysis of just how the internet has reacted but the first ones in aren’t loving the name, as it seems to move further away from the brand that could’ve pulled in a bigger audience than a rather standard name like MAX.

    Source: Variety

  • Second ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Spinoff in Development

    Second ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Spinoff in Development

    HBO Max and Discovery+ are fusing together into the oddly named Max. Alongside the grand announcement, they have also unveiled a wide variety of series to showcase what they hope to achieve with this rebranding by moving away from the HBO label that they feared would set an expectation of only high-string dramas being part of the streaming service. Mostly, it’s a way to bring the 90-Day Fiancé offerings to the platform but it seems one CBS classic is making a return as well.

    Chuck Lorre is seemingly already working on a new series that is set in the same world as The Big Bang Theory, which would make it the second spinoff project after Young Sheldon. It’s no surprise they want to bank on that recognizable name as it ran for an impressive 12 seasons and was one of CBS’ biggest series, which will now stream exclusively on Max. Lorre famously hinted at the plans for multiple spinoffs in a 2019 interview:

    Truthfully, the reason for a spinoff is economics, and that’s not the reason to do a show. You should do a show because you have something you really love and you want to do it. Economics follow passion. If you start with economics … well, shit, become a network executive

    Chuck Lorre

    The original series actually ended because Lorre wanted to ensure the entire ensemble cast was present and after Jim Parsons, who famously played Sheldon Cooper, decided to move on with his career and instead of forcing it to continue, they wrapped it up. As of now, there’s no real confirmation on what we can expect from the spinoff or who might be its main focus. So, we’ll have to wait a bit before they move forward with the spinoff.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,’ Ordered to Series

    ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,’ Ordered to Series

    You’d think Warner Bros. is all Max’d out after announcing one project after another, but there are quite a few plans to make their re-dubbed streaming service stand out. They continue to promote the cross-platform releases of some of their biggest HBO series even as the former HBO Max has dropped its naming. Among the various announcements is that they have now confirmed that George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg will be adapted as a Game of Thrones prequel.

    The series will be titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, which is quite a long title if you include the Game of Thrones logo being part of its official reveal. The project will explore the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire by the name of Egg, who is described as “two unlikely heroes” by the series’ official logline.

     Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

    The series is described as a more lighthearted spinoff, which would give the Game of Thrones franchise something a bit different compared to its usual fantasy epic drama, which was also the main focus of House of the Dragon. HBO has been quite focused on getting as many series out as possible. The title of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” with a subtitle sounds like perhaps this series will act as an anthology series that could explore different stories throughout its runtime.

    Source: Twitter, IndieWire

  • Harry Potter Streaming Series in the Works at Warner Bros. Discovery

    Harry Potter Streaming Series in the Works at Warner Bros. Discovery

    As part of a series of announcements accompanying the reveal of the new title of their combined streaming service, Max, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed the rumored development of a Harry Potter streaming series. The series is said to “to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” according to Casey Bloys the Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content.

    The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.

    Official Description via Max

    “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World,” said Bloys. “In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.” While Warner Bros. is still searching for both a showrunner and writer for the Max streaming series, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is on board as an executive producer of the project.

    Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.

    J.K. Rowling on her involvement in the Harry Potter streaming series in development at Max

    Source: THR