On Monday, chairman of Disney’s board of directors, James Gorman confirmed current CEO Bob Iger’s successor will be announced in “early 2026.” Nobody has a clue who it will be.
Iger left as Disney CEO in 2020, and Bob Chapek replaced him for two tumultuous years. Chapek was eventually fired, and Iger un-retired to right the ship. Iger was supposed to be there for just two years, but his contract got extended in 2023 and now runs through the end of 2026.
A 2023 report (via Bloomberg) painted Iger as feeling “overwhelmed and exhausted” by Disney’s woes, which included “alienating” a large chunk of the fanbase, leading to bleeding numbers. Of course, much of the Disney pushback came from conservative audiences, and the term “woke” has been used ad nauseum to describe the company’s creative TV and Movie decisions.
However, 2024 has been much kinder to the company with the incredible success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.” They also have “Moana 2” coming in November, and that one could easily open to a $100M+ box office. As for “Mufasa: The Lion King,” set for December release, I’m cautiously predicting good numbers for that one as well.