Disney Lays Off Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter

Mr. Perlmutter, who remains one of Disney’s largest individual shareholders, has long had a rocky relationship with Chief Executive

Robert Iger.

In 2015, Mr. Iger removed him as head of Marvel Studios after a power struggle with current studio chief

Kevin Feige.

Since then, Mr. Perlmutter had continued to weigh in on studio matters, criticizing certain movies that he viewed as too expensive to produce, including “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel” and more recently, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” 

Last year, Mr. Perlmutter teamed up with his friend, the activist investor

Nelson Peltz,

to try to persuade Disney to appoint Mr. Peltz to its board of directors, prompting a contentious proxy war that ended in February, when Mr. Peltz withdrew his proposal after Disney announced it would cut $5.5 billion in spending and 7,000 jobs.

Those layoffs began this week, and included the elimination of Disney’s metaverse unit. The moves represent reversals of the agenda championed by former Disney CEO

Bob Chapek,

who was close with Mr. Perlmutter and who championed the metaverse initiative. 

Disney on Wednesday confirmed the changes at Marvel, which were earlier reported by the

New York Times.

In addition to Mr. Perlmutter, Disney also laid off his assistant,

Marisol Garcia,

and two of his longtime consiglieres, Marvel Entertainment chief counsel

John Turitzin

and adviser

Alan Fine,

people familiar with the situation said. The total number of layoffs from the division wasn’t disclosed.

Disney said it expects to save money by consolidating Marvel Entertainment, which had its own human resources, accounting and legal teams. 

Under the new structure, Marvel Entertainment will be integrated into the Disney Entertainment division, led by

Dana Walden

and

Alan Bergman.

Dan Buckley,

who leads the comic-book-publishing operation, will serve as its co-president and report to Mr. Feige, the studio chief, a Disney representative said.

Rob Steffens,

the division’s other co-president, will handle licensing decisions for products like Marvel apparel and videogames, some of which will now be handled by Disney’s parks, experiences and products division, the company said. 

Mr. Perlmutter became perhaps Disney’s most powerful individual shareholder after Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion in 2009 in a bid to capitalize on its vast library of comic-book characters and stories. Since then, Marvel movies distributed by Disney have grossed more than $23 billion at the box office. 

Write to Robbie Whelan at [email protected]

Mr. Perlmutter, who remains one of Disney’s largest individual shareholders, has long had a rocky relationship with Chief Executive

Robert Iger.

In 2015, Mr. Iger removed him as head of Marvel Studios after a power struggle with current studio chief

Kevin Feige.

Since then, Mr. Perlmutter had continued to weigh in on studio matters, criticizing certain movies that he viewed as too expensive to produce, including “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel” and more recently, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” 

Last year, Mr. Perlmutter teamed up with his friend, the activist investor

Nelson Peltz,

to try to persuade Disney to appoint Mr. Peltz to its board of directors, prompting a contentious proxy war that ended in February, when Mr. Peltz withdrew his proposal after Disney announced it would cut $5.5 billion in spending and 7,000 jobs.

Those layoffs began this week, and included the elimination of Disney’s metaverse unit. The moves represent reversals of the agenda championed by former Disney CEO

Bob Chapek,

who was close with Mr. Perlmutter and who championed the metaverse initiative. 

Disney on Wednesday confirmed the changes at Marvel, which were earlier reported by the

New York Times.

In addition to Mr. Perlmutter, Disney also laid off his assistant,

Marisol Garcia,

and two of his longtime consiglieres, Marvel Entertainment chief counsel

John Turitzin

and adviser

Alan Fine,

people familiar with the situation said. The total number of layoffs from the division wasn’t disclosed.

Disney said it expects to save money by consolidating Marvel Entertainment, which had its own human resources, accounting and legal teams. 

Under the new structure, Marvel Entertainment will be integrated into the Disney Entertainment division, led by

Dana Walden

and

Alan Bergman.

Dan Buckley,

who leads the comic-book-publishing operation, will serve as its co-president and report to Mr. Feige, the studio chief, a Disney representative said.

Rob Steffens,

the division’s other co-president, will handle licensing decisions for products like Marvel apparel and videogames, some of which will now be handled by Disney’s parks, experiences and products division, the company said. 

Mr. Perlmutter became perhaps Disney’s most powerful individual shareholder after Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion in 2009 in a bid to capitalize on its vast library of comic-book characters and stories. Since then, Marvel movies distributed by Disney have grossed more than $23 billion at the box office. 

Write to Robbie Whelan at [email protected]