Hollywood Week: The Search for Bob Iger’s Replacement, Academy Awards Snubs, Surprises
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 24 January 2026 09:02
- Written by Janet Walker
The Walt Disney Company is searching for a successor to CEO Robert A. Iger, who is scheduled to retire this year, however, the possibility remains that Iger will reup to aid the transition of his beloved company.
The Search for Bob Iger's Replacement
Even as it is only January, The Walt Disney Company is ramping up its search for a replacement for its CEO Robert A. Iger, who is scheduled to retire (again) at the end of 2026. Iger's two decade reign over the mouse house, has been a storybook of commitment and loyalty to creating a global entertainment giant dedicated to introducing as much of the population as possible to the wonderful world of Disney.
98TH Oscars® Nominations Announced
Throughout the last two decades, he has guided the company to dizzying heights, acquiring PIXAR, Star Wars, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and in 2019, 21st Century FOX Studios, for a record $71.3 billion, which included additional studios, television, and streaming. What is less known are the investments in Maker Studios, BAMTech and completed the purchase of Hulu from Comcast in 2023 and the JioCinema in 2024, which brings Disney content to India's 1.451 billion people.
As the pandemic arrived in 2020, Iger retired and the leadership role went to Bob Chapek, the former head of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. His tenure was hamstrung from the beginning, inheriting an empire that was shuttered by the coronavirus closures, and behind the eight ball in streaming, limping behind Netflix, who like doomsday preppers were prepared and ready to transform the living room experience. When the closures lifted two years after, Iger agreed to return to the helm and steady the ship.
In November 2023, the Los Angeles Times, explained it simply, "In the year since Iger returned to Disney to replace his beleaguered successor, Bob Chapek, he has been trying to fix one problem after another in nearly every corner of the Burbank behemoth. Disney's organizational structure was broken. Expenses had soared. Disney's faithful fans were furious about a series of price hikes at the vaunted theme parks, and Florida's governor, presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, was taking swipes, saying the company was too "woke." Then, in May, 11,500 screenwriters went on strike, joined later by 160,000 actors."
The Oscars Set To Air Live March 15, On ABC and Hulu
It’s Official: The First Oscar Nominees for Achievement in Casting
With this upheaval in the not so distant past, searching for a successor has not been an easy process. Change management never is, and even as the ship has steadied, somewhat, replacing the captain, even one who is surrounded with a well-structed, highly knowledgeable team, essentially the best in the business, navigating uncharted waters can still lead to troubled seas.
Although the most talked about candidates include Studio Chief Alan Bergman, and President of Television and Streaming Dana Walden, a former Fox exec, that Disney retained during the acquisition, each of whom are essentially in the same silo when it comes to promotion. Also rumored are ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Josh D'Amaro.
Although the word on the street is that the expected replacement will again be from Parks and Resorts, and while that may seem like an affront to the other candidates, the reasoning, of course, is that they are too valued in their current positions, and while doesn't soothe the rejection, the company and the entertainment business at large is not in the best shape.
Oscar Nominee Reactions: Jessie Buckley, Kazu Hiro, Gabriel Domingues, Laia Casanovas, Amanda Villavieja, Yasmina Praderas
So, to take these leaders, especially Walden and Bergman, from their current roles, risks a volatile ripple throughout their silos. Essentially removing the strong leadership could create a severe dip in the front end revenue, which no company, and clearly Disney, with theatrical still experiencing a slump, cannot afford. Walden, who heads up streaming, is closing in on retaining the number 2 spot behind Netflix, the Google of streaming, which is within reach and very doable.
Parks Chief Josh D'Amaro, who has spent 27 years with the company, is the favored candidate as his division is the least likely to suffer a volatile revenue backlash or adjustment period. There is no new slate in Parks, as long as Disneyland, Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts throughout the world remain open, they will draw in the crowds which translates to no loss in revenue, if the current leadership is replaced.
One hiccup in his succession would be the Parks expansion into Abu Dhabi, even as the company has brought in a partner, Miral Group, to finance the seventh Disney Theme park, the oversight remains intrinsically tied to the success of the Disney theme park franchise. D'Amaro's vision, expertise, enthusiasm and skill, when Parks and Resorts remain a critical substructure to the Burbank behemoth, may be the critical component that keep him from advancing to the top spot.
"Disney has pledged to spend $60 billion during the next decade to expand and revitalize resorts and theme parks. It expects to double its fleet of cruise lines. The company also has invested $1.5 billion in "Fortnite" developer Epic Games to tap into the growing revenue potential of video gamers," the Los Angeles Times reported. This investment, and the need for strong, proven leadership could work against D'Amaro.
Hollywood Week: Disney Invests $1B in OpenAI, Google, Paramount Launches Hostile Bid, Peter Greene
Chairman of ESPN Jimmy Pitaro is facing the same challenges, as each of the other internal candidates, to his succession as Walt Disney CEO. The technological landscape is evolving so rapidly that his dedication, expertise, success, and Disney's dedication to capitalizing on the gaming industry, coupled with Pitaro's critical understanding of the ecosystem, will likely be the reasons to retain him in his current position.
Then the question becomes, is now the optimum time for Iger to retire?
Granted, he may believe he has achieved all that is possible in the current environment. His legacy is secure and impressive. The last situation any of the Disney Board members want to confront is even the remotest possibility that a promotion, of any of the four potential internal candidates, lead to an upending of what has been achieved since Iger's return in 2022.
The Walt Disney company has brought in James Gorman, former head of Morgan Stanley, who now holds the position of Chairman of the Board, to oversee the succession process.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Announces New Acquisitions
Academy Awards Snubs, Surprises
Sinners, from Ryan Coogler, earned a record-breaking 16 nominations, followed by One Battle After Another, with 13 nominations, and Marty Supreme with nine, Frankenstein, from horror aficionado, Guillermo Del Toro, secured nine nominations, and Norway's Sentimental Value also secured nine nominations.
Hamnet, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Chloe Zhao, secured eight nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture, and a Lead Actress acting nod for Jessie Buckley. Zhao's nomination for Hamnet is the 11th Directing nomination for a woman. She is the second woman to receive multiple directing nominations, following Jane Campion. Steven Spielberg received his 14th nomination for Best Picture, a record for an individual producer (since 1951 when producers were first named as nominees). Surprisingly, the film's lead Paul Mescal was overlooked.
A record 74 women nominated, the inaugural casting category, and 11 first time acting nominees.
With 16 nominations, Sinners sets the record for most nominations for a film. The previous record of 14 was shared by All about Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016).
Bugonia, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, received four Academy Award nominations, including a Lead Actress nod for Emma Stone. In another Oscar shock, the film's male lead Jesse Plemons was overlooked.
Historically, Alfred Hitchcock the director of such classics, as Psycho, North by Northwest, Vertigo, The Birds, and Dial M for Murder, never received an Academy Award.
Glenn Close, who has been nominated for 136 acting awards, won 75 awards, and secured eight Academy Awards nominations and has yet to bring home the Oscar statuette.
Spike Lee, who won an Academy Award for screenwriting, has never won an Oscar for Best Director, despite directing more than 20 feature films.
Dwayne Johnson, star of The Smashing Machine, which secured the longest standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival at over 17 minutes, failed to secure a nomination. The film received one nomination in makeup/hairstyling.
The Golden Globes – Complete List of Winners
Other historic Oscar snubs include:
Stanley Kubrick: Nominated four times for Best Director (for films like Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey), Kubrick never won the award, with his only Oscar being for Special Visual Effects.
Citizen Kane (1941): Frequently cited as the greatest film ever made, it only won one of its nine nominations (Best Original Screenplay) and lost Best Picture to How Green Was My Valley.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994): Nominated for seven awards, it went home empty-handed as Forrest Gump swept the ceremony.
Brokeback Mountain (2005): Its Best Picture loss to Crash remains one of the most debated upsets in Oscar history.
Denzel Washington (Malcolm X, 1992): His loss to Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) is often cited as a definitive acting snub.
AVATAR (2009) received nine Academy Award nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards and won three Oscars. The film took home awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction (Production Design), and Best Visual Effects.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, streamed live on Hulu and airs live in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five award-winning screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," a non-fiction narrative, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," and "Songs of Freedom: A Collection of Biblical Teachings," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Authors Guild, the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
