Bob Iger steps down as Disney CEO, but don’t expect anything drastic from your favorite properties
By Pete Hernandez III
The move was expected, just not this early. Bob Iger will step down as CEO of Disney, transitioning to a new role as “executive chairman” with an emphasis on the creative side. In layman’s terms: don’t expect anything drastic from your favorite Disney properties.
Bob Iger’s recently released memoir is titled “The Ride of a Lifetime,” so it wasn’t too far fetched to assume his tenure as CEO of Disney would eventually run its course. In reality, his original contract as CEO ran through 2018, but his tenure was extended to 2019 and then once again through 2021.
So case in point: Iger was expected to step down as CEO at some point, but maybe not this soon. The aftermath was felt in the stock market, where shares of Walt Disney Co. fell 3.77 percent after Iger revealed his reasoning for stepping down: “I don’t want to run the company anymore.”
And that should be the key takeaway in understanding what’s on the horizon for Iger, his successor in Bob Chapek, and Disney’s various properties like Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. Chapek will take on more of the operational responsibilities of heading Disney (like packaging its growing IP) while Iger will transition into a role more on the “creative side.” Iger will remain involved with Disney through 2021, and Chapek will report directly to him.
So now for the question on everyone’s minds: how does this affect your favorite Pixar films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s welcome of The X-Men, or Baby Yoda’s future in The Mandalorian Season 2 and beyond?
Well, they’re not going anywhere.
Your favorite IPs will be here to stay (Disney may withhold from acquiring more if anything) and you can fully expect to see even more of Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, as one anonymous Disney executive told The Verge.
Chapek’s role will not be to acquire any new IP, but rather manage, maximize, and package the likes of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, etc. for the future of Disney. As Polygon illustrated: “...think of Chapek as the Tim Cook to Iger’s Steve Jobs.”
And as for Iger, it will also be intriguing to watch what is to come with him on the creative side. Let’s not forget this is the man who helmed Disney in an era where it acquired Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century Studios. It was through his tenure that Disney arguably became the powerhouse it is recognized as today.
So his stepping down as CEO was earlier than expected, but the content you’ll receive on the big screen or through your streaming devices should see no change. If anything, you’ll get even more of it.
More Pixar animation, more Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, and arguably most important: more Baby Yoda.
