Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz criticized Disney leadership for repeated flops at the box office, noting the politicization and forced diversity in many movies produced by Marvel Studios.
Peltz, a founding partner of Trian Fund Management, is currently contending for a board seat at Disney to reverse leadership failures and what he calls a “broken” succession plan for senior managers. He said in an interview that the current approach for Marvel movies fails to recognize that “people go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained” and not to “get a message.”
The octogenarian investor specifically took issue with the diversity in The Marvels and Black Panther, which respectively center on female and black heroes. “Why do I have to have a Marvel that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that?” Peltz asked. “Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-black cast?”
Peltz implied that Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, should be dismissed from his position: “I’m not ready to say that, but I question his record.” He nevertheless said that he does not want to force the departure of longtime Disney chief executive Bob Iger, who replaced his would-be successor, Bob Chapek, two years ago after the rocky tenure of the latter.
The interview took place weeks before a scheduled shareholder vote which could see Peltz attain a board seat. Trian, which seeks to win board seats at influential firms in which they invest before they seek improvements to their business models, has a $3.5 billion stake in Disney.
Peltz observed that Disney saw “five big losers in a row” at the box office last year, while the iconic company lost first place in animation and first place in features. “Maybe it’s time to change management in those divisions,” he continued in the interview.