by The Walt Disney Company has recently undergone significant changes, including the return of Bob Iger as CEO, as well as thousands of layoffs across the company. However, one key change that occurred was the public firing of longtime and controversial studio head Issac “Ike” Perlmutter. During his tenure, he had been a controversial figure in Marvel’s management, among other things seeking to fire popular executive Kevin Feige in 2015.
Following his withdrawal, Perlmutter fires back at Marvel in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, detailing his views on why he was fired from the company and his working relationship with Disney.
“It was just a convenient excuse to get rid of a longtime executive who dared to question the company’s way of doing business,” the former Marvel exec said in the Wall interview. StreetJournal. “I have no doubt that my termination was based on fundamental differences in business between my way of thinking and the direction of Disney, because I care about return on investment.”
Throughout the Wall Street Journal interview, Perlmutter states that he has clashed with current Disney management over the past few years to secure the “bottom line,” particularly over rising production costs for Marvel movies and their respective run times. He claimed in the interview that Disney was focused on box office growth and that the talks ultimately came to nothing because, as he said in the interview, “the creatives at the Walt Disney Company are very powerful.”
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After Iger’s initial departure, his successor Bob Chapek shared similar views with Perlmutter, but it still led to clashes with Disney executives and shareholders. Perlmutter also insisted that Disney executives and Disneyworld theme park executives stay clear of Florida’s growing conservative influence. This came to a head with current Governor Rick DeSantis’ efforts to remove Disneyworld’s tax status and control theme park content with his “Don’t Say Gay” law and other conservative laws.
A point of contention
While the Disney Company hasn’t released a statement denying Perlmutter’s claims, it’s clear the former Marvel chief has been a point of contention throughout his tenure. Among other things, Perlmutter attempted to scuttle plans for the Black Panther and Captain Marvel films, as revealed in Bob Iger’s 2019 memoir, stating that he believed Marvel films featuring women and black characters would only succeed. not (Black Panther and Captain Marvel broke box office records).
Another point of contention revealed in a 2017 Vanity Fair profile was that Perlmutter had interfered in the merchandising plans for the Avengers films, specifically having Black Widow toys removed from production, as he believed the superhero toys female heroes would not sell. Currently, Marvel Studios has generated nearly $30 billion in box office revenue, which also doesn’t take into account merchandise and other products outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including comic books and video games. – which include merchandise focused on various casts of characters from different genres. and cultural.
Originally sold to Disney in 2009 for $4 billion, Marvel Entertainment (which includes movies, TV, comics, games and other merchandise) has become a pop culture staple. Following the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, other upcoming Marvel movies and shows include the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5 and Secret Invasion on June 21.
Alessandro Filllari is a freelance writer at IGN.
