News Bob Iger is back! Chapek is out!!

[Casper Gutman]

Iger likes KK. He personally took the blame for locking SWL in the sequel trilogy timeline because The Force Awakens made $2B.

And he took the blame for Solo tanking, pushing for an oversaturation of the SW market.

So, no. It ain't happening. Especially with SW on D+ doing gangbusters.

It's good that he took blame for those things, because they were his fault. Also launching the sequel trilogy with no arc mapped out despite the Marvel model being RIGHT THERE. That's on him - he pushed the deadlines.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Iger is not the demi god some think he is, but at least things will not get worse.

I wouldn't bet on that. A lot of the things that Chapek is blamed for (and he DOES indeed deserve blame for continuing these policies at the very least) had their genesis under Iger. Like I said in a previous post, Iger bailed out before Covid really hit the company and left Chapek with the mess. Chapek did a terrible job navigating through Covid, but I can't imagine Iger having done much different. Again, with the exception of having the self control not to blurt out his derision for customers and intent to swindle them.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Yes Chapek can be blamed, without question. He had an entire year to change any polices he inherited but he did not do so. He doubled down on sucking the soul from Disney for a cheap buck.

Iger is not the demi god some think he is, but at least things will not get worse.

You had me until that last sentence...

 

[_caleb]

Iger likes KK.

And don’t we all!

*and by “we,” I mean literally you and I and DEFINITELY not @Sirwalterraleigh

 

[Big_Shakalaka]

Honestly I think it just came down to the beard. View attachment 679827

His last ditch effort to seem relevant and cool.

 

[skiir97]

So do we have any idea why such a big announcement was made Sunday night? Like I get they want this news out before the stock market opens but a late Sunday night announcement for this kind of news seems really odd IMO.

 

[Inspired Figment]

Will they? Iger killed a lot of gossip and inside dirt being published. Why would he not do it again?

That was Zenia Mucha, not Iger. Now she’s not with him to control the PR/Narrative surrounding him and the rest of the company. Curious to see how this goes.

 

[_caleb]

Eh. I deleted my posts. You all win. Take the W. These conversations are a lost cause here. I'll stick to discussing Iger and Chapek in ways that you all find acceptable. Whatever.

It’s a discussion, not a battle. Just be nice and don’t go out of your way to make everything about your political perspective.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

What are the actual chances we get Genie+ out and Fastpass and Magical Express back?

 

[wutisgood]

I would actually love to know if the blue sky park thing was a telegraph from Josh that people had ideas and please get someone in here who can let us respond to universal or demands for expansion from unsatisfied guests

 

[Magenta Panther]

So do we have any idea why such a big announcement was made Sunday night? Like I get they want this news out before the stock market opens but a late Sunday night announcement for this kind of news seems really odd IMO.

I think you nailed it. The stock market should be very interesting tomorrow...

 

[_caleb]

That was Zenia Mucha, not Iger. Now she’s not with him to control the PR/Narrative surrounding him and the rest of the company. Curious to see how this goes.

There are a thousand Zenias just waiting to be activated

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yes Chapek can be blamed, without question. He had an entire year to change any polices he inherited but he did not do so. He doubled down on sucking the soul from Disney for a cheap buck.

Iger is not the demi god some think he is, but at least things will not get worse.

He had a few years that saw a once in a century pandemic, highly publicized legal attacks by a major politician with presidential ambitions, and a massive labor shortage. If he had turned around twenty years of policies that the company had invested billions in under these conditions, he would have been one of the greatest entertainment CEOs in history.

Chapek is the fall guy.

 

[Tom P.]

It’s a discussion, not a battle. Just be nice and don’t go out of your way to make everything about your political perspective.

I get your point. Here's the thing, though: I think Disney's self-admitted political stances have made a difference in the performance of some of their recent entertainment. I get that others disagree. But I honestly think that is true. But I don't know how to discuss that without getting into the underlying political issues, running afoul of the board rules, and ticking off lots of posters. So that's why I decided it's better to just back away entirely and discuss other aspects of the Iger/Chapek situation.

 

[skiir97]

What are the actual chances we get Genie+ out and Fastpass and Magical Express back?

Honestly? Maybe 1%.
Also I'd imagine Magical Express is one of their lowest priorities right now even if they wanted to bring it back

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

What legacy does Iger have, though? Before he left, he put the company deeply in debt by buying 20th Century Fox, the moron. He already had Star Wars (which he ruined), so why buy Fox? For what IP? Shirley Temple? His shopping sprees made "Disney" look like an evil greedy monopoly. He started the process that made Disney lose its warmth, charm, and wholesome family image. He and his mini-me Chapek have BOTH done a lot of damage. Forgive me for not celebrating Iger's return. We lost the pot, but now we're stuck with the kettle.

His legacy was leaving the company as one of the most beloved, respected, and healthy companies in the world, the last 2 years have been nothing but negative press and watching the Disney name diminished with every decision Chapek made.

Igers only jobs for the next 2 years should be bringing back the Disney name to what it was in 2019 and finding a predecessor that will maintain the name.

 

[Casper Gutman]

As someone who finds a lot of the stock pumping of streaming and other tech companies to be completely bunk, I think Disney is probably the only major streaming entity that will still be able to call the division a strength in 3 years. The potential mess with a Warner Bros Discovery / ComcastNBCU merger is going to make the 20th Century deal actually look like sane business, to say nothing of the dying star of Netflix and all of the other goofy albatrosses created.

Hollywood's and Wall Street's streaming mania was idiotic, short-sighted, and self-destructive across the board - and yes, Disney has the best chance of making it work.

 

[MisterPenguin]

What are the actual chances we get Genie+ out and Fastpass and Magical Express back?

Would you consider that perhaps Chapek's firing had nothing to do with the parks, which made a big profit over the past year?

And even if the firing is related to parks, would you consider it's not about the thing that you don't like?

 

[ifan]

This thread should not be political, and neither will I, but that’s also a large part of Chapek’s downfall. He wasn’t able to navigate any high profile issue as well as Iger had. Disney was no longer politically neutral as it aspired to be for decades.

Iger was much more subtle about increasing costs while decreasing budgets. Chapek hit you over the head with a hammer. Iger made some of the best acquisitions of the past two decades in media. He knew how to negotiate with Hollywood and knew where content was heading.

I’m still weary about the future of Disney, especially the parks, but less pessimistic than I was prior to hearing this news. Now, can Iger find a real successor? He’s failed that for nearly a decade.

 

[fgmnt]

But we know how Iger conceives of his legacy. He absolutely does not want to bring back WDI, he wants to have his legacy be making them largely obsolete. To a considerable extent his legacy is acquisitions, and at the moment it is likely Iger sees building his legacy as digesting and justifying the Fox acquisition and stabilizing stock prices - which probably means more belt tightening at WDW. The most likely physical manifestation of an Iger legacy push in the parks will be a starchitect structure like the tabletop to prove he can be creative like Eisner.

It's all become so clear to me now; they hired him to buy Universal Creative