Why Disney CEO Bob Iger Stepping Down Is A HUGE Story
The landscape of modern pop culture would look very different had it not been for Iger. Disney+, home of The Mandalorian and a slew of upcoming MCU shows, among others -- was launched under Iger's leadership, and drastically exceeded even their most optimistic expectations. Pixar as we know it may not exist, for it was Iger who officially oversaw Disney's acquisition of the company in 2006. The Star Wars of today -- for all its faults -- would not exist, as Iger spearheaded the purchase of Lucasfilm.
The same can be said -- most consequentially, perhaps -- of the MCU. Disney's purchase of Marvel in 2009 was arguably the adrenaline shot that propelled the MCU to its current indomitable heights. Not only did Marvel have Disney's money to bolster their endeavors, but Iger was the one who righted the ship and calmed the storm that had been brewing between the hyper-conservative Ike Perlmutter, head of the Marvel Comics Creative Committee, and Kevin Feige, the figurehead of Marvel Studios and our lord and savior.
Perlmutter refused to give the go-ahead to Black Panther and Captain Marvel, arguing that nobody would see films with black or female leads, and that they wouldn't buy their toys. Iger intervened, ousted Perlmutter from his involvement with Marvel Studios, and positioned Feige to report directly to Alan Horn. Black Panther and Captain Marvel both went on to gross over a billion dollars each, marking them as two of Marvel's most financially successful productions. Iger was also responsible for not only negotiating for the shared custody of Spider-Man with Sony, but also for renegotiating and renewing the agreement between studios.
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