Just as the Jedi had to vanish once the Emperor took power, it would seem that fans of Star Wars will need to wait for a better day as Iger takes control once more.
So, here we are. There’s no question that the last decade has been tumultuous for Star Wars fans. At the time of the Disney Acquisition of Lucasfilm, the fanbase had already gone through a schism of OT vs. Prequel fans. At that time, it seemed that nothing could be more divisive. At the time of the purchase, some fans felt a sense of relief. Disney had been flying high with the acquisition of Marvel, the Pirates of the Caribbean series was still generally beloved, and not too far in the rear window was Tron: Legacy, which was expected to re-ignite that franchise.
Knowing that new Star Wars movies would be forthcoming shook off some of the doldrums fans had been experiencing – fears that the property had become stagnant and directionless. There were fears, of course – especially surrounding the EU, and even more especially when the determination was made that these stories would be converted to “Legends.” In 5 short years, the Holy Wars and Inquisitions within the fanbase would make the OT vs. Prequel spats feel like a skirmish. Who is to blame? There’s plenty of blame to go around, though the lion’s share can be placed at Bob Iger and Kathleen Kennedys feet. Since the conclusion of the false sequel trilogy, bright spots have been rare. There have been isolated spots of hope, which have all been almost immediately crushed by contravening forces. All those that questioned whether there was actually a war going on within Lucasfilm or Disney as a whole should now have their doubts silenced.
Like Emperor Palpatine, somehow, Iger has returned.
Of course, the explanation for this return is much simpler than “Dark Science, cloning, or secrets only the Sith knew.” In many ways, one could argue that Iger never really left – he just made someone else a scapegoat for his own failures and unbridled ambition. But even then…the explanation isn’t THAT simple. For the time being, all we can do is speculate – but sometimes speculation is valuable. We can’t know the exact shape of what went down, but I think we can posit some facts that will help us gain degree of confidence:
1. Bob Iger has been agitating against Bob Chapek since before his official exit, and has likely been whispering in the boards ears for some time. Evidence for point 1: Iger has badmouthed Chapek at every turn publicly, and at strategic moments. An argument could be made that stepping away was done to avoid blame for the overall company trajectory and what would happen during the COVID shutdowns, with Chapek being a fall guy for the issues on the horizon.
2. After the Q4 earnings call, Bob actually did have the full support of the board to institute a hiring freeze and finally begin cleaning up the company. Evidence for point 2: The board extended Chapeks contract for a 3 year period in June. This was an acknowledgement of what needed to be done after the Reedy Creek debacle, and a signal that Chapek would allowed to do what was necessary to get the company under control. No board would pay the penalties for breaking such a contract extension if there were doubts about pressing forward.
3. Something drastic was about to happen for the board to reverse themselves and fire Chapek – it had to be stopped immediately. Evidence for point 3: The Q4 call itself. The content of such calls are not a mystery to the board beforehand – they knew that Chapek would be instituting a hiring freeze and cutting powerful agitators within the company. Chapek was given the sword, and was going to begin wielding it. (The recent step-down of Michelle Rejwan was likely a test of this authority).
What could have changed between November 8th and November 20th? Disney IS in a bad place – almost every movie released this year has lost money. Star Wars has been mortally wounded for some time, and Marvel is going down the same path. Pixar is dead. The parks are expensive and in disrepair, and the country is in a recession. All of these demand a correction, but replacing Chapek with Iger is a vote for the status quo. So what gives? As much as I would like to say that this was about Kathleen Kennedy and Kevin Feige being about to have a “Come-to-Jesus” moment and running to Iger for support, even those weren’t big enough sacred cows for this to be plausible.
This has to be about Reimagine Tomorrow, DEI and ESG. The biggest thing that has happened in the last couple of weeks is Elon Musk cleaning house at Twitter. Up until this point, the tech CEOs and oligarchs have managed to control narratives quite effectively. Megacorporations working hand-in-glove with government powers have used their power to extend control in truly frightening ways. Hedge and Asset Management funds like Black Rock and Vanguard leverage their holdings to require corporations to persue their political causes, at the expense of the purpose of a corporation – profit. Imagine a mosquito that could suck ALL of the blood from your body without popping. Such a creature has no care for your well-being, but lives off of your lifeblood – a parasite.
Largest Disney Share Holders
The Vanguard Group, Inc. 7.49% 136,614,265 14,554,883,793
BlackRock Fund Advisors 4.09% 74,577,472 7,945,483,867
SSgA Funds Management, Inc. 3.84% 69,950,715 7,452,549,176
State Farm Investment Management … 1.87% 33,996,592 3,621,996,912
Geode Capital Management LLC 1.71% 31,168,854 3,320,729,705
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (I… 1.32% 24,123,546 2,570,122,591
Northern Trust Investments, Inc.(… 1.31% 23,890,556 2,545,299,836
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (… 0.96% 17,445,422 1,858,635,260
Norges Bank Investment Management 0.81% 14,789,436 1,575,666,511
BlackRock Investment Management (… 0.71% 12,915,590 1,376,026,959
The powers-that-be do not care whether Disney entertains you. They don’t even care if Disney makes money short-term in comparison to a broader goal of restructuring the economic system. They care about whether or not the narrative is challenged. If they control the message, and who can speak, they can leverage the assets they control to shape the world we live in. They wish to pick the winners and losers. If they can export their DEI programs to other corporations, they can invent the criteria by which your work is governed – and in a bad economy, it is riskier to try to move elsewhere. In a world operating under these rules, a poor economy and a shrinking middle class work to the benefit of the elites, who remain in power and live high-on-the-hog. This is an awesome power, and why it is so important that we recognize that the tech giants benefitting from special privileges be treated as platforms and not publishers. By all rights, they should be treated as utilities – just as the phone companies are.
Because Twitter has become more free, these masters of the message fear that a further rebellion is possible. This must be stopped at all costs. If Disney suddenly began divesting itself of its DEI groups and ESG initiatives, other corporations would follow suit. These corporate players likely believe that their government partners will make good on their threat to investigate Elon Musk. They want more than anything to regain their power to censor, shadowban, or derank conversation that does not fit the approved narrative. Want additional evidence? Wait to see if Apple and Google make good on their threats to delist Twitter from their application stores.
Star Wars is now truly dead for a generation that waited to see the original trio after the Empire was defeated. It cannot be revived. When I believed Chapek was about to begin making cuts, I had hope that there was a path forward. I even had a whole conversation prepped with WDW Pro that contained analysis of the exact reasons why Disney failed with Star Wars (it’s more complex than you think), and the steps that could be taken to fix it. None of that seems possible now.
So how do we fight back? Truth be told, it’s hard. You may contribute to Disney in ways you don’t realize. If you subscribe to Disney+, consider canceling your subscription — the type of content which offends many isn’t likely to slow down now. None of the things you see on television and movie screens was greenlit by Chapek; it all came from Iger. Chapek only had operational control of the company for less-than-a-year. That’s not enough time to even get a single property out the door. If your job has a 401k, find out if you have any Disney Holdings, or any holdings managed by Black Rock or Vanguard. If so, divest yourself of them. Don’t buy the merchandise. I had cancelled my Disney+ subscription when Gina Carano was fired. I only recently re-upped it when Andor launched so that I could get my reviews into the site in a timely manner, and in the hopes that things were finally beginning to change. I will finish reviewing Andor with the season finale on Wednesday, and then cancel it again. It’s a sad state for Disney and Star Wars that I feel compelled to make this change… but status quo is how you get status quo.
A lot of you were black-pilled before about Star Wars – it looks like I’m finally joining you. Even that bitter pill has a duration though. Who can say what will happen in five years, in ten years? Star Wars may be gravely damaged now but here is hope in the long-term, though there are yet no signs of how that hope might be made manifest.
I’ll continue to talk about Star Wars, just likely some of the older/more obscure stuff. I’ll also continue to talk about gaming, possibly some VR stuff – what would you like to see?
For all the latest news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts!
