Disney CEO Bob Iger Admits to Secretly Killing Film Projects

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently admitted to secretly killing film projects that were once in development at the Mouse House. This really isn’t the biggest news as studios are constantly developing projects and not all of those things end up getting made, it’s just the nature of the Hollywood machine.

But, with all of the projects that Disney has announced in recent years, it’s hard not to wonder which of the projects that have been announced, are now canceled. I guess we’ll find out soon enough when the D23 Expo comes around!

Iger recently shared that Disney’s feature film division "hit on hard times that need addressing." He explained:

"You have to kill things you no longer believe in, and that's not easy in this business, because either you've gotten started, you have some sunk costs, or it's a relationship with either your employees or with the creative community. It's not an easy thing, but you got to make those tough calls. We've actually made those tough calls. We've not been that public about it, but we've killed a few projects already, that we just didn't feel were strong enough."

Iger has been on a bumpy road since he returned to Disney Studios as CEO. There’s been a line of movies that didn’t meet expectations at the box off, I’m looking at you Marvel, and there was the writer’s and actor’s strike where Iger said some pretty dumb things.

Iger previously talked about how he will have a more day-to-day involvement in the studio's theatrical slate, to ensure that the upcoming projects are as well-executed as possible. He explained:

"Next is the need to strengthen the creative output of our film studio, which generates value throughout the entire company. To achieve this, we are focusing heavily on the core brands and franchises that fuel all of our businesses and reducing output overall, to enable us to concentrate on fewer projects and improve quality while continuing our efforts around the creation of fresh and compelling original IP. I'm devoting considerably more of my time to this with the goal of improving returns, always seeking to exceed the level of creative excellence audiences expect from Disney. Meanwhile, we have four of the top 10 highest grossing films of the global box office this year, including Pixar's Elemental, which has grossed nearly a half a billion dollars worldwide. In addition to being the most viewed film released this year on Disney+."

Iger also spoke about Disney's place in the recent movie market, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Recently, we did have four really strong titles, and for the top 10 in in the past year, led by [Avatar: The Way of Water], of course, but there were other successes too," Iger continued. "That said, as I looked at our overall output, it's clear that the pandemic created a lot of challenges, creatively, for everybody, including for us. In addition, at the time the pandemic hit, we were leaning into a huge increase in how much we were making, and I've always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality I think that's exactly what happened. We lost some focus. And so, working with the talented team at the studio, we're looking to and working to consolidate — meaning make less, focus more on quality. We're all rolling up our sleeves, including myself, to do just that. We have obviously great assets, great stories to tell from the assets that we either have or that we purchased. And I feel really optimistic about the slate going forward, which is going to be a balance between some really strong sequels to some very very popular titles, as well as some good original content, starting with Wish, which comes out Thanksgiving weekend. So I feel good about the direction we're headed, but I'm mindful of the fact that our performance, from a quality perspective was really up to the standards that we set for ourselves."

Disney’s upcoming slate includes Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , which hits theaters on May 24th, 2024; Inside Out 2 is expected on June 14, 2024; Mufasa: The Lion King is expected on July 5th, and The Amateur has a release date of November 8, 2024. Marvel Cinematic Universe entries include Deadpool 3, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts. The studio's live-action remake of Snow White has been delayed to 2025.

Via: THR