Disney Fires Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter

The heads continue to roll at Disney, with the most recent being one nobody expected, but everybody probably should have. Ike Perlmutter, the chairman of Marvel Entertainment, has been laid off by Disney. Marvel Entertainment is a separate division from Marvel Studios and is in charge of merchandising, comics, and things like that. Perlmutter was once a big deal at Marvel Studios, being above even Kevin Feige, and was seen by many – mostly in hindsight – as a balancing force that kept activism out of the early stages of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He also argued in favor of cheaper budgets, which would probably have helped some of the more recent Marvel cash drains. Perlmutter famously wanted to get rid of Kevin Feige, but Bob Iger took Feige’s side and relegated Perlmutter to Marvel Entertainment – effectively making him sit in the corner and ride out his time at the company. Perlmutter also recently backed “activist investor” Nelson Peltz in a bid to get Peltz on the Disney board. According to The New York Times, Marvel Entertainment will be dissolved and absorbed into other Disney departments, with Marvel Entertainment co-president Rob Steffens and chief counsel John Turitzin also being fired.

As I said, this is unexpected, but it shouldn’t be. It’s unexpected because Perlmutter is such a non-entity nowadays that I don’t think he crossed anyone’s mind when it came to the layoffs. However, it makes sense, given his backing of Nelson Peltz and the failure of that gambit. Iger is likely using the current situation to consolidate his power, which means removing a guy like Perlmutter, who wants Disney to simply please the customer and make money rather than lecture them about social issues and go to war with politicians. You would think Perlmutter’s frugality would benefit Disney right now, but I guess ego trumps everything. Interestingly, Perlmutter was the one who made Disney’s acquisition of Marvel possible; I doubt he regrets it, considering the money he’s undoubtedly made since then, but it’s still got to sting that he’s being removed from a company his executioner wouldn’t own if it weren’t for him. According to The Wrap, Iger is also eliminating those loyal to Perlmutter, such as Rob Grosser, said to be “Perlmutter’s fixer,” who was in charge of chasing down Marvel script leaks. Midnight’s Edge points out that Perlmutter is still a Disney shareholder and surmises he could become more trouble for Iger now that he’s no longer an employee. It’s also worth noting that Perlmutter is a friend and supporter of Donald Trump; I don’t think that’s why he was let go, but I think it probably helped make it an easy decision for Iger.