Disney is about to have a CEO-on-CEO fight between current Disney CEO Bob Iger and former Marvel Entertainment chairman and CEO Ike Perlmutter, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Disney fight: Iger vs. Perlmutter

It started with Iger's refusal to name Perlmutter's choice former Disney senior executive vice president and CFO Jay Rasulo as Iger's eventual successor in 2015. Instead, Iger named former Disney CFO, COO and parks chief Tom Staggs. However, Staggs left in 2016.

Iger and Perlmutter's relationship went downhill and culminated in March 2023 when Iger removed Permutter from Disney entirely, after having stripped him of his duties at Marvel.

Perlmutter contends that Disney's board is too close to Iger for them to be effective. It's why he supported his friend and Palm Beach neighbor Nelson Peltz's pursuit for a seat on Disney's board of directors.

Peltz ended that first run after Iger promised to decrease costs and terminate the employment of thousands of Disney workers. However, since Disney's stocks have been performing dismally, Perlmutter and Peltz have returned and added Rasulo to their team. The overall mission would be for Peltz and Rasulo to join Disney's board. Eventually, this could also mean installing Rasulo as CEO.

While Peltz initial run at Disney may be reason enough for the rest of the company's board members to dismiss the him and Perlmutter as just doing this for vengeancy, Rasulo's addition adds a certain gravitas to what they're trying to do.

Rasulo was a longtime and respected Disney executive. While he may have largely dropped off from the public, he has served on the boards of iHeartMedia and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. When Rasulo announced his partnership with Peltz and Perlmutter, he said, “The Disney I know and love has lost its way.”

A Disney veteran stated, “Jay [Rasulo] has credibility. He's not some Palm Beach crank. He's a very legitimate voice about where Disney was eight years ago.”

“Ike is angry and eating three nights a week at Mar-a-Lago but Jay showing up on that side is a very significant event,” they continued.

On the Iger front, he appears to be taking this seriously. He has his own reinforcements: Iger recently secured on Jan. 3 the backing of Mason Morfit-led ValueAct Capital Management, an investment fund which agreed to support its choice of board of director nominees as part of their consulting deal with Disney.

Iger also has Blackwells Capital LLC. An executive from the company said on Wednesday that Peltz should “end his peacocking,” signaling support for Iger. Blackwells also has three nominations for the board, but this isn't something that Disney wants.

The biggest question is for Disney's shareholders. Will they take a chance on Perlmutter and Peltz? The latter is an activist investor with the support of companies that may be undervalued. However, Perlmutter is magnet for controversy and is well-known for being tightfisted.

Their ace in the hole is Rasulo, who's the sort of executive that appeals to Permutter. According to a Disney insider, Rasulo is known to be effective and a “blunt instrument” who once referred to other execs as “children playing at business.”

Another Disney veteran is suspicious of Rasulo's claim that he's doing this out of love. The veteran said, “If that was really his motive he wouldn't try to engage in a fight along with Nelson frigging Peltz and Ike Perlmutter.”

The veteran further claimed that Peltz wants the quick money and Perlmutter has an axe to grind.

With all the negative claims about both Peltz and Perlmutter, it's really Rasulo who's thought of as the voice of reason here. Again, the biggest question is whether the shareholders believe he can fix the problems plaguing Disney under Iger: streaming losses, low-performing animated streams, issues with Marvel and so on. There's also the stock, which is currently floundering.

Some Disney execs believe that this fight will come down not to Iger vs. Perlmutter — it'll be Iger vs. Rasulo. However, a longtime Disney insider thinks that Perlmutter and co. are “going to go for it and they're going to get something.”