Alan Horn is retiring as Disney‘s Chief Creative Officer, and that means his departure for Marvel, Star Wars and everything else. December 31st will be Horn’s last day at Disney, ending nine years with the entertainment giant that saw one of the most successful series in Disney history. Horn’s skill and steady hand complemented former Disney CEO Bob Iger’s bold and clear vision for the studio in the age of franchise IP and streaming.
Horn joined Disney in 2012 after an abrupt split from Warner Bros., where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer for 12 years. His arrival at Disney coincided with the acquisition of Lucasfilm, which came just a few years after the Marvel purchase and the early days of the MCU. His influence was instantly felt and helped stabilize the studio after the infamous disastrous Rich Ross era that saw a number of costly flops such as John Carter and Mars needs mothers and the overwhelming performance of Tron: Legacy That destroyed Disney’s hopes of turning it into a viable franchise.
As first chairman, then co-chairman and chief creative officer, Alan Horn has had a tremendous impact on Disney over the past decade that could have been considered a pivotal decade for the studio. Horn’s finish will certainly have repercussions. That’s what it means for Marvel, Lucasfilm and Star Wars, Pixar and everything else.
Most credit Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige for the success and expanded variety of Marvel films, but Alan Horn played a huge role there. It’s no secret that Feige didn’t get along with the narrow-minded and ultra-conservative then-CEO of Marvel Entertainment, Ike Perlmutter. Perlmutter was notorious for believing that superhero films directed by women or people of color would bomb and disregard people, and constantly thwarted Feige’s attempts to create a broader, more representative MCU.
Eventually it got so bad that Feige considered walking, and then Iger pulled Feige away from Mother-of-Pearl and had him report directly to Alan Horn instead. That’s when movies like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and more got the green light, expanding the MCU’s presence and creative, bold storytelling. With Feige, now reporting to Horn, Marvel entered a new era like Disney.
Marvel is unlikely to be much affected by Horn’s departure, however. Feige has reported Horn for six years, but Marvel operates fairly independently from Disney – one of the reasons the Horn-Feige collaboration was so successful was that, unlike Perlmutter, Horn realized that Feige had good instincts and didn’t have to be micro-managed. Feige has two great longtime producers in Marvel’s Victoria Alonso, recently promoted to President of Physical, Post Production, VFX And Animation, and Louis D’Esposito, Co-President of Marvel Studios. Marvel also has a really stellar stable of producers and department heads under them, so of all Disney traits, Marvel, and later the MCU, are likely to be the least affected by the fact that Horn is no longer there, as it has been more or less largely for years self-employed.
Lucasfilm is Marvel’s other major acquired intellectual property, and similar to Marvel, Lucasfilm’s day-to-day operations and long-term plan are unlikely to change materially. Feige’s Lucasfilm colleague, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, enjoyed a similarly autonomous and collaborative relationship with Alan Horn during his tenure. It’s important to note that Alan Berman was promoted from Co-Chairman with Horn to Full Content Chairman of Disney Studios in December in preparation for Horn’s departure, and has also worked closely with Kennedy (and Feige) for years. As with Horn, Kennedy and the other creative minds will continue to report to Bergman for the time being. Having worked alongside Kennedy and Lucasfilm alongside Horn, it’s unlikely that much will change there.
However, what could have a major impact on Lucasfilm is that Kathleen Kennedy’s contract expires at the end of this month. Despite the hyperbolic criticism that came from some corners of the internet, Kennedy’s tenure at Lucasfilm was incredibly successful, with far more hits than misses. Still, her time as president wasn’t without its tumult, which wouldn’t be strange compared to most other studios, but the remarkably drama-free nature of Marvel Studios only magnified Lucasfilm’s missteps with the sequel trilogy. With Horn not leaving entirely by the end of December, now would be time for Kennedy to retire or Disney not to renew as that would give the company a few months before a successor can be up and running. However, considering that there were a number of unconfirmed reports back in August that Disney had no plans to move Star Wars and Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy on, and that they intended to renew her contract, it seems like she will stay there .
Of course, Marvel and Lucasfilm aren’t the only divisions that exist under the Walt Disney Studios umbrella. Alan Horn also oversaw the creative pipeline of studios like Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, 2nd Century Studios, and Disney itself. But the truth is, the hardest part is over, at least for a while. Horn led Disney Studios through the rough waters of their greatest transitional period.
When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, Pixar named John Lasseter CCO, who oversaw both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation. However, the sexual misconduct allegations against John Lasseter in 2017 resulted in a difficult time for Pixar and Disney. Disney parted ways with Lasseter in June 2018 and Iger and Horn wisely replaced him with Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee as chief creative officers of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, respectively. Doctor’s time in the role led the widely respected Pixar to venture into new stories, and Lee helped make Walt Disney Animation a legitimate animation powerhouse. They’ve both been in their roles long enough that Horn can step back without fear of things going sideways.
Disney’s own live action department also clicks. Under Horn, Disney ventured into its current era of live-action remakes of its classic animated films and live-action spin-offs that focus on some of Disney’s most famous villains. Disney’s live-action remakes have been released with mixed results, with many accusing them of creatively bankrupt money crabs. However, it can’t be denied that thanks to Horn’s steady guidance, they have been hugely commercially successful, and the villain-focused films are really different from Disney’s usual offerings. Thanks to Alan Horn’s incredibly transformative era Disney, Walt Disney Studios and all of their creative departments are poised for continued success in 2021 and beyond.
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