Is This The REAL Reason Bob Iger Is Back At Disney?

It’s a move that has shocked the entertainment world.

Bob Iger, one of the most successful CEOs in the history of The Walt Disney Company, is returning to once again head the Disney empire. The beloved former CEO of the Walt Disney Company has been reinstated by the Board of Directors, replacing Bob Chapek. Weirdly, Chapek lasted a spooky 999 days in the role.

The Walt Disney Company released an official notice on Sunday, November 20, 2022, that Bob Chapek would be stepping down immediately as CEO, and be replaced by Bob Iger, who left the position at the beginning of 2020. Susan Arnold will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

But what are the real reasons behind Iger’s return?

Well, we have our theories. Amid several Disney PR backlashes and a divisive reputation, new CEO Chapek certainly had a rocky ride when it came to his public narrative. Bob Chapek’s role as Disney CEO followed a 15-year tenure from Bob Iger. Iger was a well-loved Disney CEO, steering Disney through acquisitions of Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel Studios, and 21st Century Fox to become the giant entertainment company it is today.

Iger led Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort through the additions of Pandora – The World of Avatar, Toy Story Land, Cars Land, and of course Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. He also opened Shanghai Disneyland in 2016.

Many Disney fans debated former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s decisions and stances on important political and industry issues. His budget cuts, his recent focus on layoffs, his attention moving to Disney+ and away from the Disney Parks, as well as his silence on LGBTQ+ issues, led fans of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney entertainment to question Chapek’s role as the head of the Disney Company.

With a petition going viral last year aiming to persuade the Walt Disney Company to fire Chapek, the Disney head has become quite a continued topic of discussion among Disney Guests – and now it seems, the Disney Board itself.

Of course, Mr Chapek did not have it easy to begin with as CEO, starting just before the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of closures of the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, and Disney Parks across the globe, as well as a high-profile lawsuit with Scarlett Johansson.

Interestingly, however, Iger handpicked Chapek as his successor, who had decades of experience with Disney and multiple successes under his belt. Iger remained as executive chairman at Disney to help direct the company’s “creative endeavors” to help with the transition. He said in March 2020, “I can’t think of a better person to succeed me in this role,” a day before the company announced it would begin closing its Disney Parks due to the pandemic.

But then, everything started falling apart for Disney CEO Chapek. The recent quarterly earnings report from Disney seems to have been the final nail in the coffin for Mr Chapek. Disney fell short of expectations for profit and key revenue segments during the fiscal fourth quarter and warned strong streaming growth for its Disney+ platform may slow going forward. Shares of Disney fell roughly 8% in after-hours trading – in fact, during Chapek’s tenure, Disney’s stock fell 28% as the Dow rose 25% and the S&P 500 increased 27%. This year, Disney has been among the three worst performers in the Dow, along with Intel and Salesforce.

Disney did report record results in its Parks, Experiences, and Products segment, with revenue increasing more than 34% to $7.4 billion during the quarter for the Walt Disney Parks division. But with Disney’s streaming services losing $1.47 billion last quarter, more than double the unit’s loss from a year prior, Chapek started to establish “a cost structure taskforce” to be made up of Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy, General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez, and Chapek himself.

With Disney being a business, at the end of the day, it seems these financial dilemmas moved the Board to oust Chapek, even though he signed a new multi-year contract as CEO back in June. The company’s Wall Street stock climbed to just above $200 at one point in 2021, but since then, Disney’s shares have tumbled. They closed below $100 this week.

The Walt Disney Company is also coming up on its big 100th-anniversary celebrations to honor the company’s founding back in 1923. The celebration will feature a multitude of magical offerings for Disney fans around the world, with theme parks, Disney Cruise Line, movies, and its streaming service Disney+ honoring the “Disney 100 Years of Wonder”

The Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration is set to officially kick off on December 31, 2022, during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest on ABC, and will run through 2023. The Disney 100 Years of Wonder will be chockablock with special events, including an extensive traveling exhibition that will stop at museums across the country, new nighttime spectaculars at the Disneyland Resort (which will serve as a focal point for the celebration), and an exciting new nighttime fireworks show at EPCOT.

And with a new, well-liked, CEO at the helm, it may make the huge Disney milestone a more welcome celebration.