Samantha Maxis: A Zombies Retrospective with Julie Nathanson

Join Treyarch's Lead Writer Craig Houston and voice actor Julie Nathanson as they discuss the Zombies character development process, as well as the narrative evolution of Samantha Maxis from the early days of Black Ops Zombies to the new Dark Aether story.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:47 Growing Up with Maxis
02:50 Samantha's Independence
04:02 Recording "Firebase Z"
06:29 Bringing Sam to Life
07:48 Writing "Lost"
09:28 Alone in the Dark Aether
13:01 Setting the Stage in Season Four
14:58 "Mauer der Toten"
Stay connected for more studio intel:
Twitter: / treyarch
Facebook: / treyarch
Instagram: / treyarch
Discord: / discord
Trello: trello.com/b/jLwmgJbt/
Web: www.Treyarch.com
Follow Julie Nathanson:
Twitter: / julie_nathanson
Instagram: / julie_nathanson

[@unofficialmeme5972]

*That moment when you outlive literally everyone in the Call of Duty multiverse.*

[@Dayashii]

Savanna Mason: We can bring them back from the dead

[@unofficialmeme5972]

@@Dayashii Alex Mason: Haha, Woods, you are banging my granddaughter.

[@frogerzard6606]

@@unofficialmeme5972 underrated comment

[@Daniel328DT]

@@unofficialmeme5972 Woods: I'm a goddamn onion Mason

[@-OneMoreGhost-]

@@unofficialmeme5972 this is the reason why I try to forget that BO4 existed, except for Blackout

[@finnbean5166]

I love how the zombies devs are always soo much more exited about their work than the mp and wz devs in the broadcasts

[@diogoloureiro4842]

Thats just cause Zombies>>>>>>

[@scotty2583]

I feel like they're overhyping it wayy too much

[@unofficialmeme5972]

You do realize they don't work on Warzone, right?

[@finnbean5166]

@@unofficialmeme5972 fair enough

[@Sflhunter]

Duh zombies is life and death

[@TheTropicanaMan]

So this is the woman who beautifully sang the recent “Lost” song by Craig and Kevin. Thank you for the astounding edition to the zombies music library!!

[@zombieman34]

The fact that she can not only sing but sing whilst doing a voice a really impressive

[@Shackleoneil]

seth macfarlane level shit right there

[@RikenzuPlays]

Its called voice acting 😒

[@TriniAjo]

She literally didn’t even do the voice

[@RoyalSouls]

Are you referring to Elena siegman? She's the singer for zombies at least WAW-BO3 im not sure about BO4 or cold war

[@rampantrampage298]

*Been through a lot* Well let's see: -Was raised by a pretty neglecting father who had her be babysitted by an egotistical maniac who used her for his experiments - Got teleported into the MPD and turned corrupted - Was in a 40 years old mans body(Richtofen) - Saw her dad destroy the entire universe - Saw her (other?) dad get eaten alive by Dr.Monty - Was forced to kill Nikolai in order to destroy the entire multiverse and free it from corruption - Entered a new world that was thought to be free from the zombies only to find out it isn't - Was trapped in the Dark Aether for days and is slowing losing herself -And more that I probably didn't list here. I think it's safe to say that she has in fact been through a lot.

[@voltagedarth6453]

True but didn't the intel explain how she doesn't remember much from her childhood?

[@AutobotSonicTheTelltaleGamer]

It's crazy to see how much you've both changed with Maxis over the past ten years! I've been loving her story in Cold War so much and I can't wait to see how it continues!

[@diogoloureiro4842]

Me too man, people that hate this game dont get that its actually a gold game 🙌

[@unofficialmeme5972]

@@chickengenius4202 Somebody hasn't paid attention to what goes on within Dark Aether, Cold War, Modern Warfare, and Warzone. ;)

[@AutobotSonicTheTelltaleGamer]

@@unofficialmeme5972 They probably didn't get intel, lol. And they call themselves a fan.

[@noobslayer6915]

@@unofficialmeme5972 Well there is some story, but rn it's not as good. Hopefully when Mauer der Toten comes something big is going to happen. But I'm pretty sure the game isn't going to have many more maps coming out for it so it might just end up disappointing. Hopefully they plan to continue with this story instead of starting a new one in the new black ops, kinda sucks when people leave projects half done.

[@unofficialmeme5972]

@@noobslayer6915 As if Chaos getting canceled alongside year 2 of Black Ops 4 wasn't a bad enough sign that Treyarch is a shithole right now for getting shit done.

[@devilslacker24]

Julie is such a great and talented actor. I love the work that she has done with Samantha. I can't wait to see what Craig and the rest of the team have in stored for us in future maps!

[@evanroldan9566]

We Must Protect her At all Costs

[@JoshResyx]

Please don't kill Samantha in Mauer Der Toten :( 💔

[@unofficialmeme5972]

Believe me, they're not killing her. Julie cries normally in an interview.

[@Twistedslop62]

@@unofficialmeme5972 you have no idea

[@unofficialmeme5972]

@@Twistedslop62 Yes I do. Especially with the season 4 intel. There is no way in hell they're killing her off.

[@Twistedslop62]

@@unofficialmeme5972 guys he knows. He has played mauer der toten.

[@kadex2123]

@@Twistedslop62 it’s just using context clues

[@killwillv2610]

I always looked at Sam as my demon half sister. Still love her. Thanks you guys

[@killwillv2610]

@@Deathmare235 😂 I never looked at it that way

[@acethehunter7898]

Agreed man

[@danielpurdy9328]

Treyarch: Uploads a Zombies Retrospective TheSmithPlays: "It's just the game was your thing and retrospectives were mine. But I guess we're both doing retros now"

[@danielpurdy9328]

@@Deathmare235 I think there's only 2 people that could take over that are not 3arc employees - Lex or Milo (Or maybe both of them)

[@AdamSandal83]

@@danielpurdy9328 I think Smartguy or JohnnyJ25 could do a fine job as well.

[@LordofMovies91]

@@danielpurdy9328 Dalek?

[@ExtinctionPlayys]

@@LordofMovies91 he would just copy paste all of pats retros 😂

[@TheGamerdude125]

@@ExtinctionPlayys 😂😂😂Classic Dalek the shill

[@Crimson_CourierTTV]

Oh no... Theyre totally gonna kill off sam.

[@colonelsanders3107]

@@Bluesjet1234 fr this games dead

[@christiankjd2286]

🧂🍪🧢 🥴🤡

[@Crimson_CourierTTV]

@@christiankjd2286 dafuq does thar mean

[@christiankjd2286]

@@Crimson_CourierTTV It means the hate comments are terrible.

[@-OneMoreGhost-]

@@colonelsanders3107 how is it dead when it has 10s of millions of active players daily?

[@PcGamerX3TV]

She did a great job for sure, but because of the boring operators system, she couldn't unleash Maxis Potential.

[@AmondoDazz]

Exactly! I wanted powers :(

[@sgtroach1510]

@@Bluesjet1234 how

[@PcGamerX3TV]

@@Bluesjet1234 Yeah Cold War is boring, i am playing Black Ops 1 and 2 again. You still find many players who play Kino der Toten for instance.

[@Kev1n476]

@@Bluesjet1234 How?

[@Kev1n476]

I highly disagree, while it would've been cool to have voice lines, intel greatly fleshes out the character and her personality.

[@rikolaz9297]

God I want a zombies only game

[@bofadeez]

too bad activision exists :(

[@killwillv2610]

@@bofadeez Without Activision, Zombies wouldn't have been funded and we wouldn't have had the characters we grew to love. I know it's cool to hate on Activision, because of their terrible practices, but come on.

[@kalakha4528]

@@killwillv2610 Well not really for activision. More like dev coruage to slip in the zombies mode and see it blow up and become a favorite, but Activision is trash all the way up to heaven or down to hell

[@spiner2315]

@@killwillv2610 activision doesn’t care to fund a zombies only release

[@TheGamerdude125]

Im so curious to see what the hell Jason Blundell is doing its gonna be 10x better than cold war I can feel it

[@Sir_Slimbread]

Oh yeah, Sam is 100% dying, or turning evil in this map(I doubt evil, but she could get corrupted, or brainwashed).

[@Daniel328DT]

I can see her being brainwashed. It seems like she was being controlled when in the Dark Aether according to the intel. Maybe by The One?

[@jcjgames]

Brainwashed yeah i have been collecting the intel and listening and she keeps having these moments. But I hope she doesn't die 😔

[@Sir_Slimbread]

@@jcjgames I don't want her to die either, but I feel like that's where it's heading. Unless Craig is just trying to make us believe that. I'd hope they didn't practically spoil the map by doing this before that map releases. It's a nice watch but if Sam ends up dying I'd rather if them done this interview afterwards.

[@kevinbell8607]

@@Sir_Slimbread if samantha dies then the game won't be the same zombies is already boring without the og crew and if they kill her off zombies will have officially no story line well not necessarily but no good one for the least

[@ghostflame9211]

why not evil? wasnt she basically, sort of evil in the first maps as a child? I feel like her powers have jsut been dormant this whole time, and the new map will expose her as one of the causes of the outbreak zones (officially that is; i know it's been heavily implied thru the intel before). then weaver will order a shoot to kill (or maybe maxis will sacrifice herself) and thats the end boss fight... except, i dont want this to happen on Mauer der Toten because that seems like a definitive ending, which then implies we're not getting another map.

[@shotty2hotty477]

Sam has always been one of my favorites if not my favorite character in all of gaming ❤ and Julie and Craig really are the best too! I'm so hyped for where the story takes us next!!

[@lapistides]

Maxis was like a childhood friend we all got to know and spend all the time with, but then she moved away in a sense and pursued her dream of living life. Years later, we are reunited with the same love as before. I hope this isn't the end to that reunion...

[@lolstalgic9602]

Thank you for helping bring such a amazing charter to life, Julie. And moment of silence for Andrea Arruti, the Spanish Dub voice Actress for Samantha Maxis RIP

[@rampantrampage298]

You never realize how much these characters mean to the people involved in developing them until you see them cry or get emotional because of how much they are dear to their heart. These characters from the zombies storyline are dear to our heart, too and i'm excited yet a little nervous to see what happens in the next zombies map.

[@BLACKOPSMan115092198]

Julie Nathanson did really amazing that she played the voice character of the one & only Samantha Maxis. I really love this operator!!!

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

Lucky lady. She's the only one who survived from the original universe!

[@desolatesoul2304]

Julie is such a sweetheart. Love her personality. She’s a wonderful Samantha!❤️🙏

[@lukedoran1615]

Lost is such an amazing song, they really hit it out of the map on this one imo

[@TheGamerdude125]

Yeah back in February

[@jesserichards5582]

This is really awsome! Thank you!

[@DarkLordoftheOldRepublic]

Maxis's dog should be in the next Maxis bundle.. pretty please....

[@shepherd9312]

Just don't get it near a teleporter machine, we don't want any hell hounds

[@w0ahFN]

I can't wait for Boa to post a new video and explain everything about it more!

[@TinTin12121]

Craig should do a Q&A on either reddit or Twitter sometime

[@Pageturner1]

I would have asked her a question "if there was a Maxis skin that could be of Julie's choosing, what would it be?" that's a question I would be openly curious to see the answer. but also, this woman plays a character who is one of my personal favorites in not just the Dark Aether Story, but the entirety of Cold war in general. love your work, and can't wait to see more. Treyarch should do more of these interviews with the actors of different characters. I'd love to see them interview Woods or Adler or even a Warsaw operator.

[@apophics6758]

notice how Samantha was being followed at the end...

[@Pizza_Raccoon]

End of what?

[@duckk7594]

@@Pizza_Raccoon the end of the reveal cutscene

[@avilacarlos4343]

I feel like it’s over for her because she wanted to cry and he thanked her for all the years she’s been working with them 😔

[@johnnyj9357]

I'm excited for this

[@69jalo]

I got so much respect for her. She really does love her role. ❤

[@turtato2155]

If she's crying now does that mean her character dies in this next map. Cause that would suck since we only would get to know adult character her for 2 maps

[@simply_soul4355]

You also have to take into account the intel

[@Dayashii]

@@matthewgrisham3553 Intel?

[@unofficialmeme5972]

I've seen multiple interviews with Julie. She normally cries from all the positivity. It makes her happy knowing that others are happy.

[@-OneMoreGhost-]

@StabbyShabby 2 “remedial fool”. Good one mate

[@thejamemes6758]

@@Dayashii That's really not the same. I got all intel collected and I like listening to it but intel used to be for evolving the story of side characters and that's where it should have stayed, don't tell me character's like Sam and Edward (when/if he returns) don't deserve to have proper in game voice lines. Part of me doesn't even want Edward to return because hearing my favorite character go "zombie EKIA" would break me mentally.

[@JustDubstepS2K]

#Dontkillmaxis please no, I love Samantha Maxis🥺 i also play as her as an operator in cold war because i love zombies so much and her character i have followed since ‘08

[@MrGreendayzed]

Craig needs to watch what he says about kevin's work. Might break his heart.

[@TheGamerdude125]

What did he say?

[@Eddieavina123]

Can't wait for the new zombie map

[@spoongod2769]

@@Bluesjet1234 L comment

[@SPAC3H3R0]

@@redx2941 he’s right the maps are boring and way to easy and it’s boring there’s no point going for high rounds you do nothing but dlc weapons grind that’s all

[@WellCookedPotatoes]

@@Bluesjet1234 then why are you here?

[@WellCookedPotatoes]

@@SPAC3H3R0 then go play bo1 or bo2. noone's forcing you to play any of the "easy" cod games that came after that

[@SPAC3H3R0]

@@WellCookedPotatoes who in the green hell are you I been playing this franchise for 12 years and I know what makes a great game Cold War is dogshit stop defending activision

[@diogoloureiro4842]

I love this game and its storyline, yes way more simple and realistic but I like so much. I dont care what the little kids that play cod say. I'm 21 and I've been with Treyarc and Call of Duty since 2010 and gonna keep enjoying their games. ♥ Let's hope Cod Vanguard has a nice zombies experience.

[@InSinast]

مایل به لواط؟

[@francisjones3473]

I look forward to seeing how storyline ends for cold war zombies 👍

[@BennDown]

I remember those calls so fondly. Good times.

[@killwillv2610]

I come to you guys with no hate in my heart and only love on my mind. I love zombies so much. I love it so much, that I paid my bills up for months and took up a lot of time to get World Records in Black Ops 4. I'm not sure if you guys care about that game anymore or not, but the records are being tainted by players with hacked PC accounts. They have near infinite Nebulium Plasma, and 999 of every elixer and talisman. It breaks my heart, because I've been playing BO4 faithfully since it released. It is still the only game I've ever pre-ordered. I've earned so many elixers, saved them up for these specific months and went for records I wanted to grab. It's unfair that ONE MAN is taking every round 30, 50, 70 speedrun, taking every first room record and soon, he may go after high rounds. Who's to say that more players like this will emerge or not...I really don't want to think about that. I cannot let this stand. I implore you to help me take action against this. I'm actually begging. I love zombies so, so, so much. Please 🥺

[@iamswitters]

7:34 Craig, if you're having trouble finding Intel, you can follow any of my very helpful guides to get those hard to find Audio Logs and Artifacts😉

[@RikenzuPlays]

Yknow it also helps to link people to said guides Hint hint 😉

[@InSinast]

@@RikenzuPlays کسانی که پروفایل عنیمه ای دارند حق اظهار نظر ندارند

[@raph590]

A good extension to watch after Dan interview

[@Saluvation]

I remember when I was like 9 or 10 after me and my buddy finished the Easter egg(origins) I said imagine we could play as this girl little did I know.

[@lazerpie1222]

Jason Blundell I was watching the gorod krovi trailer rn and missed the good old days.. God bless u for creating such a good memories and days for us..❤️🔫💣🐒🧸

[@nazarenonunez3183]

I love you treyarch

[@ghscrub1604]

I honestly thought she was introduced into cold war. The fact that she's been here since bo1 is astonishing

[@ll-starryy-ll]

Something is gonna happen to Sam in one of these maps!

[@unofficialmeme5972]

As if she hasn't been through enough already.

[@tailsfnas2062]

Imagine Sam controling the zombies again The veterans: Ah S*it here we go again

[@theTDG2000]

DUDE. IM SUPER HYPE. im loving the direction of the game. great work again treyarch!! mauer der toten here we come

[@theTDG2000]

@@Bluesjet1234 delusional

[@callofdutymaster2643]

I love your cod treyarch

[@PRIME72-74]

Julie Nathanson/Samantha Saxis if you ever read this lost is one of best songs i have ever heard if anyone at Requiem or treyarch sees this message please say it to Julie/Maxis Keep up the good work Samantha maxis

[@SardonicStare]

Time flies...

[@fyzorrkigen]

Here's the big twist in maur. : Samantha is sent in to save us along with ravenov in maur. She then at the end has a confrontation with kravchenko and weaver having to choose whose side to take. She isn't going with omega obviously, but she also breaks ties with requim deciding to stop the dark aether alone with ravenov and offering us the opportunity to join her. Essentially making her and enemy to both sides as she and ravenov want to get rid of EVERYTHING to do with the dark aether

[@fyzorrkigen]

OR another theory is that ravenov has been a double agent all this time. As he's been leading us on . It makes sense since he somehow is still able to infiltrate omega even knowing that peck knows all about ravenov. It would seem legit if this was a ploy to get us to help him the whole time.

[@johncapron6010]

@@fyzorrkigen nice theory! Good ideas.

[@codzombiefan115]

Damn they called the aether send off a retrospective too. Rip Sam

[@yurichtube1162]

What a pure soul

[@hectorperez2860]

The fact she’s crying makes me wonder if season 4 new zombie map will make her character finally R.I.P now she will be with the primes crew now 😭 so sad I haven’t bought her in Cold War but I will when the zombie map is out

[@Justin-fm2sh]

Hell ye the story finally gonna get good

[@vmwindustries]

Hype!!! Can't wait!! Where does Maxis go? Where's Eddie?

[@Daniel328DT]

I hope he's not evil

[@AdamSandal83]

@@Daniel328DT Something tells me that Sam is going to go ape-shit crazy in Mauer der Toten and after that they'll slowly start introducing Eddie to once again fight Corrupted Samantha.

[@Daniel328DT]

@@AdamSandal83 That would be an interesting twist. They'll just have to explain what he's been up to this entire time.

[@electriccherry6090]

i’m really hoping for elana seigman to return

[@PiperAtTheGatesOfYourMom]

Best maxis quote: “BYE BYE!”

[@MrDinodane]

Can we have our new zombies map now please? And a zombie map pack after the season 4 too would be awesome.

[@NoahJ456]

This is amazing.

[@RoYaLSniperclanTeam]

No, you are amazing

[@Bl33dingheart222]

Your amazing too

[@kimihaanstra7189]

Pat will be proud when he sees that title

[@chadrankin7717]

Still looking for all the audio hidden stuff in outbreak! Any help appreciated! Have 82 intel out of around 180.

[@keyoneanderson3879]

Man oh man

[@gossamercross20]

I got a limited time event idea maybe during October in coldwar we can have HellHounds and Brutus to run around the map killing people or the robots from origins or the witch from buried stealing scorestreak progress?

[@Apollo2ktv]

Hold on a minute, this isn’t thesmithplays

[@WillzGotSkillz]

This is awesome!

[@sealedzebras447]

The end of Samantha grows near 😢

[@kingdeno9981]

She’s dying in the next map?

[@unofficialmeme5972]

Knowing her character, not even the most powerful of Keepers or Apothicons can keep her down.

[@kingdeno9981]

@@Bluesjet1234 bo4 story was great not aether tho

[@unofficialmeme5972]

@@Bluesjet1234 Monty was the biggest mistake for the story. Glad they got rid of him in BO4.

[@kingdeno9981]

@@Bluesjet1234 ok man if that’s how you feel about the game

[@Maffo__]

queen

[@saltydagger6635]

Please don‘t kill her off… she’s my favorite CoD character of all time 😢

[@loganlamarche6230]

this is for treyarch only add the nuketown holiday as it's on playlist plz.

[@Gwill-i-am06]

Agent maxis reporting for duty

[@oscarrojassantos6525]

All hail the Queen

[@simply_soul4355]

Mauer Der Toten hype!!

[@dr.edwardrichtofen908]

Well looks like Samantha is joining me and the rest of the crews in the dark aether

[@Craiguuu]

They taking thesmithplays whole flow lol

[@chadrankin7717]

I'm a multiplayer. But LOVE OUTBREAK!

[@donyishai]

Everybody is gansta until Craig starts voicing Samantha too

[@69jalo]

I'll always love zombies❤

[@ArlenJ100]

This is where the urgent conspiracy (or controversy) had happened. Don't worry, guys. Samantha Maxis is still alive

[@clarkisaac6372]

My lovely character in the NATO faction.

[@averagegamer019]

Trailer plz but also she has a good German accent

[@arnulfoacevedo8147]

Sam is gonna show her powers and accidentally kill weaver

[@Sylvarite]

Why would they release weaver as a playable operator

[@arnulfoacevedo8147]

@@Sylvarite it’s a theory

[@Cloontange]

@@Sylvarite weaver is coming in season

[@InSinast]

کص نگو چصک

[@georgefranco7900]

am i crazy or did i hear somewhere that maxis’ powers moved a book across the room? i was trying to find it intel but i dont see it anybody know?

[@dominickcook8568]

Bro how cool would it be if we could customize our reload animations

[@remarkablezeal9568]

"Come on, come on, come on! Hurry up!" ~ Dempsey, impatiently waiting on his weapon upgrade.

[@sgtroach1510]

Well that’s not a problem for cold war

[@bobthebuilder9509]

@@sgtroach1510 ‘Cause Dempsey ain’t gonna need a weapon upgrade when he’s six feet under :(

[@bloatersnake9787]

"K to the I to the A zombitch! -Tank Dempsey

[@blaniac6591]

@@sgtroach1510 it really is. I’m done waiting, I’m done giving them money too. I’m absolutely fucking sick and tired of this shit. Pretty damn obvious these shills care more for money than they do their fans. So I’ll just stop giving them money. Absolute pos.

[@shepherd9312]

@@blaniac6591 But they do care about the fans,Trayarch does, Activision sadly doesn't.

[@rickylee9317]

Samantha maxis my favourite skin

[@nextgen2846]

RELEASE THE MAP! RELEASE THE MAP!

[@fabress8989]

The primis voice actors goodbye video have the same title as this one… :(

[@VNLAGRLLA]

i dont think they will kill her per se but maybe she will get trapped in the Aether in order to save everyone? We need Maxis in our lives and if Eddie is the Director... anything is possible.

[@WellCookedPotatoes]

they already somewhat did that with firebase z though. they have to raise the stakes somehow

[@dollaradime9516]

For a sec I thought the smith plays was back 😢

[@kuushix]

Samantha maxis..... Timeless

[@equestria9352]

Mierda que traigan a la actriz de voz de Samantha algo va a pasar con Samantha 🥺

[@BigPundo]

Reminder that both Black Ops 1 had 2 maps on release and Cold War has 2 maps 8 months after release.

[@Maxtraxv3]

stan alone cod zombies game WHEN?

[@jayger1018]

Cool

[@saaontop22]

مبروووووووك 800الف

[@jcjgames]

Yo ngl as I was collecting season 4 intel I heard bits of it and I thought Sam killed the dog. I was thinking nah you being for real

[@1-800-fat-ppl]

When does the zombies map come out

[@Josuehtx-cw8lz]

Goat

[@SuzukiBro865]

SAMANTHA MAXIS MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS! Who's with me?!?!

[@Daniel328DT]

Weaver is shaking

[@jasoncourt5252]

Me

[@blueeyeswhitedragon9569]

Me

[@privatefirstclassgelfand840]

Rangers (MW2): Hooah!