Bob Iger is Back!!!

[robster16]

Even Michael Eisner has come out and publicly criticized Iger! Stock for Disney has dropped 7%, massive world wide call to boycot disney and all it’s affiliates! It’s exactly what they deserve for so casually sacrificing free speech for corporate greed. The day Iger is gone can’t come soon enough!

[carolinakid]

I can’t boycott a company I rarely patronize. I will continue to watch General Hospital and the Disneyland 70th Anniversary special on 9/21. Otherwise I don’t watch ABC and rarely watch anything Disney produced beyond the year 2000. I do own a significant amount of Disney stock so I’ll stay in touch with my financial advisor on the situation.
I don’t watch late night network television so I couldn’t care less about Kimmel & Colbert. I was concerned when Roseanne Barr, Gina Carano & Megyn Kelly were canceled over free speech issues. And of course, when President Trump was banned from Twitter (now X) and Instagram during his first term. What changed?

Bring on the hate, amigos!
(And I’m no fan of Iger’s!)

[robster16]

Trump has weaponized an FCC chair he appointed to threaten networks if they do not silence shows and people who are negative about him, then they will feel the consequences and lose their license. That is in direct conflict with first amendment rights. Roseanne Barr and Megyn Kelly were canceled because they made racist remarks which were also in conflict with the constitutional protection of people.

When a sitting President openly and explicitly has a hand in what media and opinions are okay and which are not and when negative voices consequently get silenced, you have a MAJOR issue and democracy has evaporated right in front of your eyes. Disney going along with this for fear of financial consequences is peak capitalism crumbling in the face of fascism!

[UmbrellaFish]

Michael Eisner shared this on X:

Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment? The “suspending indefinitely” of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC's aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation. Maybe the Constitution should have said, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.” By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.

Incidentally, are we far enough out from the disappointing final years of his tenure to admit that the years of Eisner’s leadership (with Frank Wells, of course) represent the highest heights of the TWDC, post-Walt and Roy O?

[Kyle]

I still resent what happened under his leadership in that he spearheaded the cheapening and eventually death of handrawn, but at this point I would welcome it he were take back over, ironically. That's how far the company has fallen.

[DisneyJedi]

I mean, I’ve gone on record to say Eisner was a scumbag, but after watching his interviews on The Imagineering Story and after a friend provided context for his “we care more about making money than we do about art”, I’ve been thinking that maybe I’ve given him more flack than was warranted.

As for Iger, if he ends up getting fired sooner than later after everything that went down under his leadership, I personally think he would absolutely deserve it. He claims to be an ally to all (including blacks, Asians and the LGBTQIA+ communities), but only when it benefits the company financially. Instead of nurturing art and creativity, he either meddles with a project to the point that it becomes hated, hardly has it marketed (yes, I still think the company under his leadership is screwing over the more original projects) or buys up IPs and simply slaps the Disney name on them. Don’t get me started on how ticket prices for the parks has gotten so absurd that a family of four would need to get a second mortgage on their house or take out a loan just to spend a week there. Vacations are supposed to be a source of relaxation, not mounting stress.

Iger acts like the steward of Disney’s legacy when he’s really its undertaker. He straight up traded imagination for acquisition, integrity for compliance, and courage for bootlicking. He didn’t just lose the company’s magic- he betrayed it, sold it and buried it alive.

And when the further history of Disney is written, Iger’s chapter won’t be remembered for creating dreams. It will be remembered for killing them.

[PatchofBlue]

I'm glad the issue finally got resolved, at least in the short-term, but I'm honestly wondering if this won't go down as like The Walt Disney Company's biggest misstep of all time. It certainly has to be Iger's. Chapek's "Don't Say Gay" performance (which I can honestly imagine may have been a well-intended approach that just absolutely stumbled) looks graceful by comparison. Like, people who depend on the line about Disney as this capitalist kraken that is somehow singlehandedly responsible for the world's problems, they are absolutely going to have a field day with Disney trying to silence free speech in order to win favor with ... you've all heard those lines, I'm sure.

While I'm mindful that this whole ordeal touched on issues that were much bigger than Disney fandom, I am also just getting a headache thinking about how this is going to specifically be used as like an ace with any conversation about Disney fandom actually being worse than other fandoms.

Anyways, shoulda' gone with Tom Staggs.

[PatchofBlue]

Disney Execs Said to Favor This Candidate as Bob Iger’s Successor
https://fictionhorizon.com/disney-execs ... successor/

Josh D’Amaro, who runs Disney’s theme parks, has emerged as the top contender, according to executives and industry figures familiar with the process.


The board is reviewing four internal candidates: D’Amaro, Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, and Jimmy Pitaro. Walden and Bergman share control of Disney’s entertainment division, while Pitaro oversees ESPN.

Even as the speculation grows, Iger has pushed back on the idea that a decision is close. According to someone who witnessed a recent exchange, Iger said he had “no idea” where talk of D’Amaro’s appointment was coming from, insisting that the board has not chosen a successor yet.

The search is being led by Disney Chairman James Gorman, who joined the board in 2024 after overseeing leadership changes at Morgan Stanley.

Disney has confirmed that its succession committee has been holding regular meetings but has not revealed details. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.

D’Amaro has led Disney’s Experiences division since 2020, which includes theme parks, cruise ships, and consumer products. The unit has been booming, delivering $8.12 billion in profit in the first nine months of fiscal 2025, more than Disney’s film, TV, streaming, and sports businesses combined. Disney has committed up to $60 billion over the next decade to expand parks, add cruise ships, and open its first licensed theme park in the Middle East.


D’Amaro has also become a regular presence at public events, joining Iger at Disneyland’s 70th anniversary celebration on Wall Street, appearing at film premieres, and speaking at industry conferences. He has even been spotted at events hosted by rival companies, such as Netflix, where he met with senior executives.

Dana Walden is seen as his strongest competition. Along with Alan Bergman, she helped steer Disney+ into profitability after years of losses. Walden has also been working to build trust with investors, appearing on CNBC and taking part in financial conferences.

Insiders view Bergman and Pitaro as less likely choices, though they remain part of the process. For many observers, the contest is shaping up as a direct race between D’Amaro and Walden.

Hm ... I don't feel like I have as much context as I'd like for any of these guys, but I don't know if I've ever heard of D'Amaro.

[Sotiris]

The original report comes from Bloomberg that's behind a paywall. Here are the most interesting parts.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger was chatting at the Farmshop restaurant in Santa Monica, California, a couple weeks ago when the conversation turned tense. His breakfast partner suggested Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s theme-parks division, “will do a great job when he’s appointed CEO.” Iger bristled, according to a person who witnessed the exchange. He raised his voice, saying the board hadn’t made a decision and that he had “no idea” where that notion was coming from.

The conversation reflects a growing consensus among many Disney executives, former executives and industry leaders that D’Amaro will succeed Iger when the company names a new CEO as planned early next year. The board is focused on four internal candidates, including D’Amaro, entertainment co-heads Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and Jimmy Pitaro, who leads ESPN. Iger’s contract ends in December 2026.

Succession is widely viewed inside and outside of Disney as a two-horse race, led by D’Amaro, 54, who was born 20 years to the day after Iger. Competing with him is entertainment co-Chair Walden, who primarily runs Disney’s TV business. Bergman and Pitaro are viewed as long shots, according to Disney executives who asked not to be identified talking about someone who may soon be their boss.

Among Disney executives discussing succession, a common theme has been D’Amaro’s understanding of Disney’s culture, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He has worked at Disney for almost three decades, while Walden joined the company in 2019 after Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of the Fox entertainment business. While D’Amaro has never supervised Disney’s film or TV units, he interacts almost daily with the people who run those businesses and is well liked by them, several of the people said.

In March, at a retreat in Florida for Disney’s top 300 managers, the four divisional leaders were given equal time to showcase their businesses and say how they will shape the company’s future, the people said. D’Amaro’s presentation, about the potential of the Experiences unit to bring Disney’s brand and entertainment properties to life, was especially inspiring, the people said. In a game of pickleball at the retreat, D’Amaro lost a doubles match against two executives from the film studio, the people said. Insiders on hand joked they were surprised — they assumed he’d win anything he competes in.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... in-waiting

[UmbrellaFish]

I think a lot of people respond positively to Josh D’Amaro because he is very charismatic. He is handsome and personable with guests and cast members alike. His expo presentations always come off as polished, rather like Iger, and unlike Chapek, whose visible nerves made the audience uncomfortable.

I don’t pretend to know what Disney would look like under D’Amaro’s regime, though. Maybe more of the same? To me, it’s hard to tell these things until someone’s actually in the driver’s seat. In any case, he is a parks guy— most of his time with the company has been with the parks, but that’s also where the company makes the most money.

[PatchofBlue]

Chapek was also with the parks, if I recall. But I also associated him more with lazy overlays like "Pixar Pier" and just slapping stickers on everything.

D'Amaro's big tickets on his resume seem to include the Mickey Mouse ride (which I loved) and The Avenger's Campus (which I thought was kinda blah). So, best I can tell is that he's like Chapek if Chapek actually put some muscle into his projects.

(Anyways, skimming over the word "Succession" in the article is making me imagine some prestige-television drama tracking this whole ordeal and it's making me very happy.)

[Sotiris]

Jimmy Kimmel Endorses Dana Walden as Next Disney CEO: “She’s Done a Great Job”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 236396433/

[Sotiris]

Disney has considered a co-CEO structure to replace Bob Iger
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/14/disney- ... -idea.html

[DisneyJedi]

Co-CEO? Is that even a thing?

[Patricier21]

Co-CEO? Is that even a thing?

Well, it currently is at DC Studios……