Disney (DIS) is set to name a successor to interim CEO Bob Iger in early 2026; Iger's contract is set to expire at the end of 2026. Meanwhile, the media giant has tapped former Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO James Gorman to become the board's chairman in January 2025. Gorman has led Disney's succession planning committee and will exit his role as Morgan Stanley's executive chairman for this opportunity.

"What Iger has been telling people is that whenever they identify his successor, he wants to stick around to kind of help guide them, to help them learn the ropes, because it's really impossible for any new CEO to understand all the different parts of Disney," Hollywood Reporter media and business writer Alex Weprin tells Josh Lipton and Jared Blikre.

Weprin believes Iger wants to "leave a good impression" after retiring in 2021 and being forced to return as chief executive after the ousting of his initial successor, Bob Chapek. He speculates whether the Disney board will face future pressures from activist investors in this timeline to find and name a new CEO.

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This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.