Under the stewardship of Bob Iger as CEO, the Walt Disney Company’s film and television division underwent an astonishing period growth that made the studio’s lead at the forefront of the pop culture pack almost unassailable.
With Iger in charge, Disney completed the acquisitions of Fox, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios, increased its stake in Hulu, launched Disney Plus and developed the production line of live-action remakes from the animated vault as another multi-billion dollar line of revenue. That’s quite the legacy to leave behind for successor and fellow Bob Chapek to inherit, but the exec hasn’t forgotten about his dealings with Tom Holland.
It’s since gone down in Hollywood folklore that Holland had a couple of drinks before calling up Iger in an attempt to clear up the Spider-Man debacle that briefly saw Sony withdraw the web-slinger from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As you can see below, the former Disney boss brought it up when lauding the success of No Way Home.
Holland isn’t just the guy that plays Spider-Man anymore; he’s a key part of the creative process that can help heal the division between two rival studios, while No Way Home marks the fifth different billion-dollar movie he’s played a major role in, so he’s additionally an A-list star and proven draw. Not bad for someone that’s only 25 years old.
