In a new interview, Nelson Peltz blasts woke Disney, Kevin Feige, and the Black Panther and The Marvels movies while discussing his bid to get on the board of the company.
The 81-year-old billionaire is currently battling Disney in a proxy war involving two Disney board seats.
While responding to Disney claiming Peltz and his investors don’t know anything about the movie business, Peltz fires back with mention of the recent failures of Disney which include its animation and Marvel brands. We can also add Star Wars which hasn’t seen a movie released in years.
“They say we know nothing about the movie business — we don’t claim we do — but I don’t think they do, with five big losers in a row. They’ve lost first place in animation, they’ve lost first place in features . . . Maybe it’s time to change management in those divisions,” Peltz told the Financial Times.
What about Kevin Feige?
Kevin Feige happens to be in charge of one of the divisions in question – Marvel – but Peltz says he’s not ready to remove Feige just yet.
“I’m not ready to say that, but I question his record,” Peltz responded.
Fans “don’t go to get a message”
Peltz – who also happens to be backed by Ike Perlmutter who has previously reported to have butted heads with Feige at Marvel, so much so that reportedly Feige was ready to quit Marvel but went above Perlmutter which saw Iger back Feige – points out that Disney has become too woke.
“People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained,” he said. “They don’t go to get a message.”
What about Black Panther and The Marvels?
The article points out that Peltz takes aim at The Marvels and Black Panther, the former of which lost Disney $200 million, and the latter of which made nearly half a billion less than the first one, not to mention The Marvels also made nearly a billion less than Captain Marvel (in highlighting its powerful IPs, Disney itself also omitted seven years worth of Marvel).
“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? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?” Peltz questioned.
The vote for the two board seats will be revealed on April 3 at Disney’s annual meeting. Recently saw George Lucas back Bob Iger and Disney against Peltz.
