Leaders | Bob Iger’s encore

Disney brings back a star of the past. But its real problem is the script

Hollywood is suffering from the brutal economics of streaming

Bob Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., listens during a Bloomberg Television interview at Disneyland in Shanghai, China, on Friday, June 16, 2017. Iger said he stepped down from Donald Trump's jobs panel two weeks ago following the president's decision to exit the Paris Accord on climate change because businesses must accept responsibility to protect the environment. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

FILM CRITICS often complain that the box office is overrun with sequels. Now so are studios’ head offices. On November 20th Disney announced that Bob Iger, who ran the company for 15 highly successful years until he stepped down in 2020, would go back into the spotlight for a second act as chief executive. Bob Chapek, who lasted less than three years in the role and had presided over a 40% drop in Disney’s share price this year, was sent sloping back to his trailer.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Disney’s surprise sequel”

Frozen out

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