The man who sold Marvel to Disney is now gone as Disney includes Ike Perlmutter in the list of individuals saying goodbye due to job cuts.
It is an incredible thing to see. The man who once said Kevin Feige should be let go is now, himself, being let go by Robert Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Perlmutter actually sold Marvel to Disney originally, but decided that Feige was not the right man for leading the MCU and 2015. That led to Perlmutter being relegated to consumer sales. And now, with Iger seeming to go after those who would challenge his legacy, Perlmutter has been let go.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of all this is that Feige’s MCU in 2023 is in the weakest position we’ve seen since the modern era of Marvel movies began. Many reports now say that only a single Disney-led MCU film in Phase Four was profitable. If that is true, Perlmutter’s predictions for the first phase in which Feige was free of old Ike seem to have merit.
Clearly, Disney leadership and CEO Robert Iger don’t see it that way.
A Disney spokesperson has confirmed to Deadline that Ike Perlmutter is out at the company. Note, Permutter oversaw the consumer products division of Marvel, and isn’t part of the Kevin Feige-led Marvel Studios.
Perlmutter’s departure comes amid Disney cutting 7K jobs in a massive overhaul of its employee corps that’s part of $5.5 billion cost-cutting manuever to position the Mouse House even more for the streaming obsessed entertainment era. Permutter’s Marvel Entertainment will be folded into other parts of the Disney corporate umbrella. Perlmutter’s oversight included comic book publishing (which reportedly earns $40M-$60M annually), as well as game licensing and arena shows.
— Anthony D’Alessandro, Deadline
This newest event comes as another major Marvel executive was just fired: Victoria Alonso. It also is on the heels of Antman 3 (Quantumania) being perhaps the biggest flop in the history of the MCU.
Things seem different at Marvel and Disney.
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