Bob Iger Extends Contract as Disney CEO Through 2026
The Walt Disney Company has announced that Bob Iger will be extending his contract as CEO through the end of 2026, after signing a two-year deal at the end of 2022 that would have forced him to pick a successor within the next few months so that they would take over by the end of 2024.
The Board voted unanimously this week to extend Iger’s current deal until December 31, 2026, which will give him extra time to implement the cost-cutting policies that have defined his second tenure as CEO. As of the posting of this article, Iger is also deep into negotiating, along with other studios part of the AMPTP, with SAG-AFTRA for a new deal with the actors and avert a strike that would completely paralyze the industry. News came out earlier this week that Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav, and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos met via conference call on Monday to discuss the urgency of the matter and take immediate action. Of course, signing a new deal isn’t entirely up to Iger, but it would be a catastrophe for Hollywood as it would completely halt any development of movies at any stage of production, and push everything back for as long as the shutdown lasts.
Announcing Iger’s contract extension was perhaps not the ideal PR move this very week for that matter (we’ll see how the situation eventually concludes, as the deadline for a new deal to be signed expires at midnight, July 12), but it was something that was being cooked up. Fox Business reported just last week that Iger would be seeking a new extension, and sure enough, the voting wouldn’t come long after. The executive returned to the company in November of last year after the Board ousted former CEO Bob Chapek, who was reportedly very disliked within the company.
Besides dealing with the various shutdowns happening industry-wide because of the strike(s), Iger’s priorities lie in getting the Walt Disney Company back on its feet after a disastrous last few years where they miscalculated the complete 180 shift to streaming. The Disney Plus bubble seems to be about to burst, and the company has started to realize over the past few months that the ultimate source of revenue for them is delivering quality theatrical entertainment. In 2023 alone they’ve delivered two three box office disappointments with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and The Little Mermaid (the last one may eventually break even but it will certainly not make the figures the company was once hoping for). Part of the reason for that is overblown budgets, namely in the case of Dial of Destiny, an issue that is also affecting streaming.
As far as Star Wars goes, Bob Iger has guaranteed a commitment to return to theaters, and just last month they announced they would be releasing two feature films in 2026. We know that one of them will be the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed film about Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order, which should go into production by the beginning of next year. On the Disney Plus side, they have three live-action series in post-production — Ahsoka is set for a two-episode debut on August 23 (it just dropped its latest trailer this week), while Skeleton Crew would be targeting a late 2023 release and The Acolyte is coming at some point in 2024. Andor season 2 continues to shoot in the UK.
Mark G. Parker, Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, celebrated the announcement with the following statement:
“Time and again, Bob has shown an unparalleled ability to successfully transform Disney to drive future growth and financial returns, earning him a reputation as one of the world’s best CEOs. Bob has once again set Disney on the right strategic path for ongoing value creation, and to ensure the successful completion of this transformation while also allowing ample time to position a new CEO for long-term success, the Board determined it is in the best interest of shareholders to extend his tenure, and he has agreed to our request to remain Chief Executive Officer through the end of 2026.”
Added Bob Iger:
“Since my return to Disney just seven months ago, I’ve examined virtually every facet of our businesses to fully understand the tremendous opportunities before us, as well as the challenges we’ve been facing from the broader economic environment and the tectonic shifts in our industry. On my first day back, we began making important and sometimes difficult decisions to address some existing structural and efficiency issues, and despite the challenges, I believe Disney’s long-term future is incredibly bright. But there is more to accomplish before this transformative work is complete, and because I want to ensure Disney is strongly positioned when my successor takes the helm, I have agreed to the Board’s request to remain CEO for an additional two years. The importance of the succession process cannot be overstated, and as the Board continues to evaluate a highly qualified slate of internal and external candidates, I remain intensely focused on a successful transition.”
Another of Iger’s priorities is to pick a successor. This would have been his main priority after coming back, considering it was one of the few big failures he had during his first tenure, but after he returned he found the company in ruins. It would sound plausible that he asked for more time to put it back together, and later pick a successor, as it would have been a massive undertaking for him to do in two years. Not to mention that a successor would have typically been chosen a year or so before they were to take over.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
